


A Story Of Time

by holdmypreath



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Angst, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-07-19 11:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19973056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdmypreath/pseuds/holdmypreath
Summary: A story mostly based on interactions between Christen and Tobin leading up to and during their relationship. All will be based on true events from their careers, plus pictures and videos; starting from the first time they played each other in college until now. I've wanted to do this for so long and it doesn't look like anything like it exists yet so I'm super excited for this project! Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

Basically, like I said in the description, this work will be based on true events I've gathered from personal research and the Preath timeline from @preathbar 's tumblr. The timeline is truly the greatest thing to happen to the entire Preath following so please do go check it out on their page. Everything pre 2015 will be from my own research will post 2015 World Cup win will be mostly based on the Preath timeline, and a little of my own research. Each chapter will be based on a certain date and place. Chapters based on specific photos, videos, or posts will come with that linked to it. I'm starting from their first game against each other in college and going from there. I'm trying to be as accurate as possible and have done meticulous research to insure that. Not sure how often I'll be updating as I am a busy person but I truly do hope you all will stay patient with me. It will be full of fluff and angst, some smut, and lots of stuff based on iconic Preath moments and real life events in their careers. This is also my first ever writing so I will be figuring it out as I go along. Thank you all very much for reading and enjoy!


	2. The First Face Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen and Tobin's first meeting in college. All game events are accurate, right down to the chilly breeze! The interaction though is made up.
> 
> Source: https://gostanford.com/sports/2008/9/12/Stats_12510.aspx#GAME.BOX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all will like this! I'm going to experiment with the different first person perspectives and maybe some chapters will be in the third person. Let me know what you all think!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2008 LAIRD Q. CAGAN STADIUM, MALONEY FIELD; STANFORD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

“You have got to be kidding me” Christen said under her breath as number 98 in powder blue sent a ball from the left side of the box, 6 yards out, off the far post, and into the goal during the thirtieth minute. It was her first shot of the game, and it was a beaut.

Coach Ratcliffe had warned the girls in the locker room before the match about this number 98, Tobin Heath, and everyone knew she was a threat. Tobin had gotten her first cap with the senior National Team in January that year and had been selected for the Olympic roster, coming home from Beijing with a gold medal. Plus, only a minute before Lindsay Taylor had a beautiful shot on goal that somehow Whitney Engen had been able to stop with the keeper off her line. But of course Tobin’s first shot of the game went in. _How did our back line let that happen? Whose mark was that?_

NC TARHEELS - 1 || STAN CARDINAL - 0

Frustration set in for Christen as she watched all the tar heel girls storm to center field in celebration. Both teams had been kicking shot after shot, mostly on goal, and both goalies had been making saves. _It was bound to happen I guess._

Only about a minute after the ball was back into play, a fired up Christen had a shot on goal, but it was saved by the North Carolina keeper Rodenbough.

HALF: NC TARHEELS - 1 || STAN CARDINAL - 0

When both teams came back out from half time, North Carolina had substituted their starting goalie, Rodenbough, for Harris off the bench.

The game resumed and so did the attack of both teams. Again with shot after shot by a range of players on both sides. About three quarters through the game Tobin took a second shot that went high and then Christen had one fly wide.

It seemed like a sure victory for North Carolina and hopeless for Stanford until the eighty-seventh minute when Kelley O’Hara launched the ball into the lower left corner past keeper Ashlyn Harris.

NC TARHEELS - 1 || STAN CARDINAL - 1

“Yes!” Christen screeched as she ran to hug her teammate. She could feel the excitement as the nearly full stadium erupted and all the girls piled onto each other.

The last minutes of the game would be absolutely crazy. In minutes eighty-eight through ninety Ashlyn Harris would block three shots on goal, one from Kelley, and two right in a row from Christen. They battled it out for two grueling overtimes but no one could break the tie.

FINAL 2OT: NC TARHEELS - 1 || STAN CARDINAL - 1

Christen finished with five shots, 4 on goal, and not one hit the back of the net. She was disappointed in herself but content with the fact that the game ended in a draw instead of a loss.

Everyone lined up to do post game high fives. Tobin was the last one in line and once they reached each other she took Christen by surprise, pulling her off to the side.

“Hey”

“Hey”

“You’re Christen Press”

“You’re Tobin Heath”

“Yeah I uh… I am” She chuckled nervously, while rubbing her neck, then continued; “I just wanted to tell you that you’re like… really good. I’ve never seen anyone else move like that on the field, you’re so swift. Plus you really gave our keepers a run for their money tonight. How about next match we play you could take it easy on them?”

Christen was sort of shocked. She wasn’t sure what Tobin was going to say but she certainly wasn’t expecting a compliment. She snickered before responding.

“Well thanks and…” She was trying to think of a quick and witty rebuttal to Tobin’s obviously sarcastic request “…maybe I’d consider that if your keepers had let at least _one_ of my shots go in.” Christen internally cringed at all her failed goal attempts tonight. _I mean… four shots and not one goal? Why can’t anything ever go my way?_

“Touché” Tobin laughed. Her soft brown eyes lit up when she smiled. “I just wanted to let you know that you’re one hell of a player. I have a feeling we’ll be facing each other in the cup sooner or later and I wouldn’t be surprised if you got called up to camp.”

It had always been Christen’s dream to wear the U.S jersey and if the Tobin’s earlier compliment hadn’t already put a smile on Christen’s face, this one definitely did. “You really think so?” she responded.

“Yeah, totally”

“Well thanks again, you’re one hell of a player also. Congrats on gold by the way.”

“Eh, it was a cool experience and all and _it is_ an Olympic medal but every footballer’s real dream is to hoist up that World Cup trophy”

“I can’t deny that”

They stood there staring at each other, not really sure what to say next. Then the silence was broken.

“Tobs! Locker room!” Meghan Klingenberg, or just “Kling” as Christen had heard her teammates call her on the pitch, was standing twenty feet away calling to Tobin and motioning her arms towards the rest of the team, already making their way over to the locker room.

“I gotta go”

“Yeah me too”

“It was nice meeting you Christen”

“You too Tobin”

They smiled at each other, then turned around and began to walk away.

“Hey!” Tobin called back out, making Christen turn back around. “Try not to tear up our entire defense next time!”

“I’ll think about it!” She responded with a smile.

They both waved and then were off to their respective locker rooms.

Christen couldn’t believe how down to earth Tobin was. At only twenty years old she already had an Olympic gold medal, something that so many athletes train a lifetime for, and just nonchalantly passed it off as a second tier accomplishment. _If I do get a call up, I guess I’ll already have a friend there. She could show me around and stuff. That wouldn’t be so bad_. Just minutes before Tobin was the enemy but now it seemed they could become good friends in the future. That whole interaction made Christen forget about her own performance in the game, which was a good thing. Otherwise, she’d sit and sulk about it for hours. Now, she was just in a good mood.

Christen walked to the locker room with a beaming smile, tucking her fly away hairs back behind her ear after a chilly breeze had blown them out of place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter! This is the first thing I've ever written that wasn't an essay for an english class so please leave feedback in the comment section. This is something I've wanted to do for a while now so I hope after posting this first chapter I will keep the motivation to update often. Again, thank you all so much!


	3. The Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pali Blues win the championship and decide to have a little fun after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get you all an update for the second day in a row so here it is! I never thought writing would take this long. It's currently 2:01 am and I'm delirious as I've been working at this for hours. I'm pretty sure there's no spelling or grammar mistakes. I hope you all will enjoy!
> 
> Also, it was pretty hard to find info on the Blues but wikipedia and a tweet from Ali Riley came in pretty clutch! The club is a real place in DC and so is the Mezzanine room (lol), pretty close to the White House and National Mall. I figured if the girls were to go out they'd want a place like Ultrabar!  
> Sources:  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_USL_W-League_season#Playoffs  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali_Blues  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobin_Heath#North_Carolina_Tar_Heels  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christen_Press#Stanford_Cardinal,_2007–2010  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_NCAA_Division_I_Women%27s_Soccer_Tournament  
> https://twitter.com/rileythree/status/936751511211622400 **Ali Riley tweet with funny fetus picture that may or may not of inspired the next chapter**  
> http://www.ultrabardc.com/ultrabar-nightclub-lounge/

_“I have a feeling we’ll be facing each other in the Cup sooner or later…”_

Sooner came and Tobin did not in fact face Christen in the College Cup since Stanford would lose in the semifinals to Notre Dame. North Carolina took home the trophy that year. They both had stellar performances and made the all-tournament team. For the off season, both girls decided to join the Pali Blues in the USL W-League. The roster was pretty stacked with collegiate greats, mostly from UNC such as Nikki Washington, Ashlyn Harris, and Whitney Engen, but Christen had Ali Riley and Kelley O'Hara with her too. Plus Tobin's best friend and fellow "New Kid" from the National Team Lauren Cheney was also joining from UCLA. Everyone put aside their rivalries and came together to form a lethal team.

FRIDAY AUGUST 7, 2009 MARYLAND SOCCERPLEX; GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

The final whistle sounded and that was it: the Pali Blues were the 2009 USL W-League champions.

FINAL: PALI BLUES - 2 || WASHINGTON FREEDOM RESERVES - 1

All the girls ran to center field in celebration. They posed for pictures with the trophy and then headed back to the locker room to change.

Tobin was seated on a bench near the showers taking off her boots and socks when she heard a familiar voice: “Tobs we are going out dancing and you’re coming with us!” _Gosh Kelley we just finished playing ninety minutes and you really want to stay out late tonight?_

“Going out where?”

“A bar or a club”

“Kelley you just turned twenty one like three days ago”

“Yeah exactly, and now that I’m of legal age, I plan to use it.”

Tobin chuckled “Okay what ever you say” _Aren’t some of the girls underage? I swear Christen isn’t old enough…_ “Wait Kelley!” Tobin called out.

“What?” Kelley frowned “You’re not gonna pussy out on me are you?”

“No” Tobin shook her head “I just… well… some of the girls aren’t of age are they?”

“So what?”

“How are we gonna get them in?”

“Ugh you’re such a buzzkill! I don’t know we’ll figure it out when we get there”

“That sounds like a terrible plan”

“Whatever grandma. Hurry up and shower, you’re not getting out of this” Kelley said as she chucked Tobin’s duffle bag at her chest.

“Fine. But by the time we’re at the bar you better have a solid plan”

Kelley pretended to ignore Tobin’s final comment, walking over to the showers to get in.

After everyone was ready to go, they all hopped into a few taxis. Tobin decided to ditch her UNC teammates for the night and climbed into the first cab with the cardinal girls. She didn’t know Christen too well as they'd only had scattered interactions as teammates over the last five months but she’d played on the Junior National teams with Kelley for a few years now and considered her a best friend, off the field at least. The driver already knew where to take them apparently because he just pulled out and the others followed. Christen was sitting on the left side by the window where she was staring out at the night sky and passing cars, Kelley squeezed into the middle, and Tobin was on the right.

“Where are we going anyways?” Tobin asked, turning to Kelley.

“It’s called Ultrabar”

“Ultrabar? Sounds sooo lame. Where is it?”

“DC” Kelley shrugged.

“DC?!”

“Yeah what about it?” Kelley seemed unphased.

“Why are we going all the way to DC?”

“Tobin you really think there is a nightlife in this snooze fest known as Germantown, Maryland? Of course not; so we have to go into the city, but I promise it will be a blast! Plus the club is 18+ so the children can get in and have some fun too” she nodded her head in the direction of Christen, who was still staring out the window as if in her own little world, not hearing any of this.

“Who’s gonna pay for it all?”

“Coach Charlie! He said we deserve to have a little night out after our undefeated season and he knows most of us are just broke college students who can hardly pay for a meal with our own money. He even reserved us our own little section for when we get there. Everything is paid for and taken care of”

“Wow, alright, I guess you have a plan now” Tobin responded nodding her head and turning away from Kelley, leaning back into the headrest. _Well we have worked pretty hard this season, I guess we do deserve it._

The forty five minute drive passed fairly quickly and soon they all pulled up in front of Ultrabar and jumped out of the taxis.

“The National Mall and all of that stuff isn’t too far from here you know. If you want to puss out you could just go chill over there” Kelley jabbed at Tobin as they stood outside the entrance.

“Shut up, you’re stupid” Tobin responded, pushing Kelley a little. They both laughed.

Once all their ID’s had been checked and everyone was inside, a host showed them to a small room called “The Mezzanine” which was a private area with their own private bar and an overlook to the main dance floor. Some of the girls settled into the couches while others went off to the dance. Kelley had dragged Tobin and Christen with her onto the dance floor. _Ugh this is the last thing I want to be doing right now. Can’t I just sit down?_ More of the girls joined them on the dance floor and began to bring Kelley drinks. _Uh-oh, don’t get her started._

Tobin was tired of dancing and started to drift off from the center of the floor, slowly, so the rest of the girls wouldn’t notice. She made it to the edge where she could safely walk back up to their private area and finally relax. _Whew… now that that’s over I can just chill—_ “Hey!” Her inner thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice and a hand that had grabbed her wrist. Tobin whipped around quickly to see that Christen, looking exhausted, was the one who had stopped her.

“Sorry if I startled you!” Christen had to shout over the booming music “I’m just— super tired. Are you going back upstairs?”

“Uh yeah I am”

“Can I join you?”

“Of course” Tobin felt Christen’s hand make its way down from her wrist until they clasped fingers.They held hands like this as she guided them through the sea of people on the main floor, up the stairs, and back into their own private space. When they arrived at The Mezzanine, Tobin was pleasantly surprised to find it empty. The the music was still loud and clear from the main floor but it was definitely less deafening; at least they wouldn’t have to yell at each other to communicate anymore.

She turned back to Christen, who’s hand was still in hers, and she stared into her piercing green eyes for a few seconds, before they each gave a small smile and let go.

“Shall we sit?” Tobin offered.

“Yes please” Christen breathed a sigh of relief.

“Before we do though, I’m gonna get something to drink. Do you want anything?”

“Oh I’m not twenty one until December it’s fine—“

“Gosh you are such a square, I promise I won’t call the police” Tobin joked “and since you’re still an infant and I’m the adult here I’ll get it for you”

“Are you sure?” Christen inquired, biting her bottom lip and squinting her eyes slightly.

“Yes of course. Anything you want”

“Okay I’ll have…” Christen racked her brain for a moment “… a glass of moscato!”

“You have _got_ to be kidding me. No! Absolutely not!” Tobin was laughing.

“What’s wrong with moscato?”

“That’s like the girliest, fruitiest drink on the planet! Pick something else”

“But you said _anything_ I wanted”

“Okay well _anything_ but moscato”

“I’m truly not much of a drinker but my mom does let me drink some moscato on holidays so... I guess that’s the only alcohol I really know”

“You’re telling me you’ve never been to a frat party?”

“Well, Kelley has dragged me out to a few…”

“What did you drink there?”

“I may of had a beer or two—“

“Great! I’ll get us a few of those” Tobin interrupted in an excited tone.

The younger girl went to sit on one of the couches while the older one approached the bar. Soon Tobin was setting the beers down in front of them on the little table and settling in next to Christen. They each took a sip from their bottles, staring straight ahead of them, and Tobin recalled their first and second interactions. She thought about the time they met each other after the game last year and Christen had congratulated her on the gold medal, and the second time where they saw each other on the first day of practice for the Blues. Christen had said something along the lines of “Congrats on the Cup”. She left her thoughts and broke the silence: “You know, it seems you’re always congratulating me for winning something but now you can also call yourself a champion too”

The girl next to her scoffed then giggled a bit before responding: “Yes, soccer’s most prestigious accomplishment: USL W-League Champion” They both laughed at this.

 _She’s pretty fast on her feet… well her physical feet and also… her mental feet?_ “Okay you got me there”

“If I recall correctly a certain someone once said something along the lines of... ‘ _it is_ a USL W-League championship but every footballer’s real dream is to hoist up that World Cup trophy’ or something like that?” They were both laughing pretty hard now.

“Hmm… and I think the response was ‘I can’t deny that’ and well… I can’t deny that” The pair could not seem to control their laughter.

Once she could breath again Christen said “I can’t believe you, Tobin Heath, two time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist thinks what we did a few hours ago even compares to your accomplishments”

“Don’t forget, Tobin Heath: twice NCAA champ, Olympic gold medalist _and_ USL W-League champion! But at least you do have something now”

Christen giggled at this then rebutted “Hardly. Plus this is just for fun, I mean we’re not even getting paid, we’re just here for something to do in the offseason. Until I can help bring a College Cup back to Stanford, I truly haven’t accomplished anything”

“Christen you can’t think like that. You’re truly one of the best players I’ve ever seen, and some stupid trophy doesn’t determine your worth”

“Easy for you to call it 'some stupid trophy' when you have two of them”

“That may be true but I promise, in fifteen or twenty years from now when you retire, if you can’t call yourself a World Cup champion, or at least an Olympic gold medalist, I’ll be shocked. From all our trainings and games over the past few months I can tell that you’re someone who works her ass off, and stuff may not always go your way now but one day it will have to.”

Christen was silent for a second as she digested Tobin’s words, staring off in front of her, “You say such nice things to me. It’s crazy cause on the pitch you seem so… so mean. But it reality, you’re super sweet”

 _Do I really come off as 'mean' on the pitch?_ Waiting for a response Christen turned her head to the girl next to her, peering at her up and down with her bright green eyes.

Tobin stayed silent so Christen chimed in again “Can I be honest about something right now?”

“Sure”

“I’m like... really feeling this beer right now. My head is definitely spinning a little” They couldn’t help but laugh again.

“You’re such a light weight, Press!”

“Yeah I guess I am” Both girls held eye contact and kept smiling at each other. Their moment would be interrupted by a very drunk Lauren Cheney stumbling up to their table. “Hey guys!” she blurted out.

“Hey Cheney, you ready to go yet?” Tobin asked.

“I think so” she nodded. All three girls chuckled at this.

Soon after, the trio went downstairs to gather everyone and call it a night. Tobin swore her conversation with Christen had only lasted a few minutes, but was shocked to see that over two hours had passed since she exited the dance floor. All the girls left the club together, most of them pretty drunk, _especially_ Kelley.

“Hey Kel”

“Hey T-Tobs” Kelley slurred her words a little as she stumbled towards her friend.

“Did you have a good time tonight?”

“You know, I-- I think— I think I did Toby”

“Well I’m glad. Here let me help you in” Tobin helped Kelley get into the driver’s side back seat of the cab. Then she walked around to the passenger side, to be greeted by a smiling Christen who had already opened the door and was motioning for Tobin to get it in “After you” she smirked.

“I know you’re pretending to be polite right now just so you don’t have to sit in the middle seat, and I’ll let you get away with it this time” Tobin joked as she slid in next to Kelley.

“Perhaps you’re onto something, Heath” Christen said, settling down next to Tobin and closing the door.

They rode back to the hotel in silence. Before the driver had even pulled out of Ultrabar’s front lot, Kelley was fast asleep, resting her head on the cab window. Tobin leaned her own head against Kelley’s right shoulder, shut her eyes, and went deep into thought. _Christen is super nice and super funny. I can’t believe we played on this team with each other for the whole spring and summer and hardly talked. I wish we could’ve become better friends. Now we have to go back to school and our own teams and get ready for the seaso—_

For the second time that night, Christen had interrupted Tobin’s thoughts. The only difference in this instance was that she did it silently. She had nestled her head up against Tobin’s right shoulder, and closed her eyes. Tobin decided to let her mind rest and just drift off to sleep like the other two had.

This was a moment she wanted to remember: _snuggled up in the backseat of a cab with one of her best friends and a new friend who she’d surely get to know better soon._ It was so comfortable and so peaceful. She had almost forgot about that championship they’d won earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this one took me a while, I don't think the next update will be quite as long. Plus what I had in mind wasn't going to be super long anyways. Don't forget to leave feedback in the comments and thank you all so much for all the kudos and comments you've left already! All this support is definitely motivation to update often. Since I start college in 5 weeks I will try to update as often as possible considering I won't have time come the fall. Thanks again!


	4. 2009 Final Four Banquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T and C see each other at the Final Four Banquet before they play their semi final games in the 2009 College Cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This tweet from Ali Riley is so good for so many reasons. For me, it gave the names of some college Pali Blue players from that 2009 season because the internet is almost desolate of that information lmao. But more importantly, for all of us, it is a hilarious picture with fetus versions of all our favorite gals. I'm glad to see Ashlyn's fashion has evolved.  
> Source: https://twitter.com/RileyThree/status/936751511211622400?s=20

Stanford had had a killer, undefeated season up until this point. Twenty two wins, no losses, and not even a draw. UCLA awaited them in the College Cup semi final. That was looming over the team but for tonight, they’d just kick back. It was the Final Four banquet and the players of Stanford, North Carolina, UCLA, and Notre Dame would put aside their differences for a dinner and awards ceremony.

EARLY DECEMBER 2009 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY; COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, U.S.A

After everyone had finished their dinner, all the speakers had spoken, and all the awards had been given out, players and coaches left their seats and mingled. Christen had seen some of the Pali Blues girls around and thought she’d try to find them to catch up a little. After all, she hadn’t had the chance to talk to any of them since their championship win and night out three months ago.

Suddenly she spotted Ashlyn Harris, who was pretty hard to miss considering she had a bright pink shirt on. Ashlyn was facing her direction and talking to a girl in a print dress and a gray sweatshirt, with the hood up over her head and back to Christen. Christen smiled and waved in Ashlyn’s direction hoping to get her attention. It worked.

“Christen Press! Get over here!” Ashlyn called playfully.

As she walked over to the pair, this mysterious hooded figure turned around. Those soft brown eyes caught Christen’s and her heart fluttered a little bit at the sight of a friend she had missed.

“Tobin! Ash! How have you guys been?”

“Pretty good. I’d say we’re super stoked for the next few days” Ashlyn said.

“I think we all are. So is Notre Dame gonna going down or what?”

The two girls across from her looked at each other then smiled and laughed “That’s the plan” Tobin responded, and then inquired “What about UCLA?”

“It should be a challenging game but I think we can handle it”

“You guys have totally been tearing it up this year, I think you have it in the bag”

“Let’s hope”

They all stood smiling for a second before Ashlyn spoke up again “If we _do_ see each other in the final I’m ready for whatever you’re going kick my way”

“Bring it”

This friendly competitive banter was interrupted by Christen’s teammate, Ali Riley calling out “Guys we’re getting all the Blues from this past summer to take a picture, c’mon!”

They all walked over the rest of the girls who were already together. After greetings and a few words were exchanged, Christen, Ali, Kelley, Ashlyn, Nikki, Tobin, Whitney, and Lauren posed for a photo. The picture was taken, the group said their goodbyes and good lucks and began to disperse.

“Christen, wait up” Tobin said putting a hand on her shoulder, causing her to swing around. “I just wanted to say a few more things”

“Sure”

“So, how are you feeling about the next few days”

“I can’t lie, I’m pretty nervous but I know I’ve prepared so long for moments like this; I’m ready.” “You definitely have. As much as I want us to win the Cup, which of course I do, I want you to succeed too. You've worked so hard and you deserve it, really” _Wow, she really knows how to render me speechless._

Christen couldn’t really form words so Tobin added, “Now’s your chance to call yourself a champion of something. See you December sixth?” sticking out her hand.

Still a little shocked but able to speak now, Christen took the hand in front of her and agreed “See you December sixth” as she shook it. They nodded and parted ways.

The teams headed back to their hotels for the night, they all had a big week ahead of them.

 _Now is your time Christen, this is what you've been working for. Bring home this Cup_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was short and sweet. Expect a long, emotional, and angsty next update! Thanks for reading and thanks for the support!


	5. Tunnel Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin watches Christen work her magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short update, the long one is next!  
> Source: https://www.espn.com/college-sports/news/story?id=4638405

FRIDAY DECEMBER 4, 2009 AGGIE SOCCER STADIUM; COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

“Woah!” The UNC women’s soccer team erupted in awe as Christen Press launched the ball from twenty-four yards out and into the back of the net in the ninety-forth minute, breaking the 1-1 tie with UCLA and winning the College Cup semi-final game.

“She’s fuckin deadly, dude! Did you see that shot?” Ashlyn, who was standing next to her, asked Tobin.

“Yeah that was pretty amazing, but what did you expect? We got to see that stuff all last summer”

“True, but that was still so killer. I guess that’s who we’re gonna see in the final, if we win tonight that is”

“Yup, let’s go get ‘em”

FINAL: STAN CARDINAL - 2 || UCLA BRUINS - 1

All the girls were standing in the tunnel of Aggie Soccer Stadium, awaiting their semi-final game and watching the one before theirs wrap up. After the ref blew the final whistle, they began to make their way out onto the field for warm-ups. That night, North Carolina would beat Notre Dame 1-0 to secure their spot in the final. Now Stanford awaited them.


	6. College Cup Final 2009

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen and Tobin face off in the College Cup Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can only imagine how it felt to lose your first game of the season, in the championship. Also the quotes to the media are real.
> 
> Sources:  
> https://gostanford.com/news/2009/12/6/208072192.aspx  
> https://gostanford.com/sports/2009/12/6/Stats_13281.aspx#GAME.BOX  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NCAA_Division_I_Women%27s_Soccer_Tournament#See_also

A record setting crowd was seated in Aggie Soccer Stadium. The temperature was in the forties with wind and light rain. There was tension and excitement. Even though the conditions were sub-par, the atmosphere was top tier. This was Christen’s chance to bring the College Cup home to Stanford and etch her name in NCAA history. The team had worked their asses off this entire season, in every training and every game. They had yet to lose. Only North Carolina stood between Stanford and that trophy. Christen was ready.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 6, 2009 AGGIE SOCCER STADIUM; COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

Christen had no words this time.

She stood there frozen as she watched Tobin Heath pass the ball to Casey Nogueira, who sent it into the box towards Jessica McDonald, who finished the goal with a powerful strike.

STAN CARDINAL - 0 || NC TARHEELS - 1

It was only the third minute of the College Cup final, and they were already down by one. _Don’t panic. Don’t get down on yourself. Don’t give up. There’s still an entire game to be played. We came back from being down 2-0 to beat San Diego State, we can do it again._ Christen was trying to keep herself positive but it was hard. _Keep fighting._

At halftime neither Tobin or Christen had taken a shot at goal and the score was still 1-0. In the second half Christen knew that if she didn’t get more aggressive, Stanford would let this game slip through their hands.

Megan Klingenberg received a yellow card in the fifty-sixth minute, giving Stanford possession of the ball. A minute later, Christen would take her first shot, but it flew over the high post. In minute sixty-nine, Kelley O’Hara received a yellow card. 

“Hey relax, we need you in this game! Don’t get too worked up” Christen was trying to give her teammate reaffirming words.

Apparently these didn’t work, because Kelley committed another stupid foul just four minutes later, receiving another yellow, and therefore a red card. She was ejected for the rest of the game, and there was still about twenty minutes left to be played. Stanford would be forced to finish the game out with just ten players on the field and they were still down by a goal.

She was trying not to panic but it was hard. Kelley and Christen were Stanford’s dynamic duo; two dominant forwards. Being on the field without her didn’t feel right and the loss of her meant a loss of serious offensive firepower. _Just stay positive Christen_.

In the seventy-fourth minute, Christen struck again only for it to be saved by Ashlyn Harris. She felt dread drape over her body as Tobin took a shot on goal just two minutes later, but was relieved to see the Stanford keeper Kira Maker capture it. _There’s still fourteen minutes left plus stoppage; we can do this, we can do this._

In the seventy-seventh minute, Christen attempted a strike that was blocked by a defender. She was getting frustrated now, and really worried.

When the ninetieth minute rolled around, Stanford had one last opportunity: a corner kick. Christen would be taking it. _This is our last chance, just place the ball in the box and hope somebody’s there to head it in._ No one would be there for a header. Shortly after, the final whistle blew.

FINAL: STAN CARDINAL - 0 || NC TARHEELS - 1

This whistle ended the game, Stanford’s undefeated season, and Christen’s junior year. 23-0 turned to 23-1. After the sound of the whistle, everything went silent to her. Though all the UNC fans were erupting and their players were screaming and cheering, Christen fell deaf to it. She felt tears well up in her eyes, a sharp pain in her chest, and the biting cold wind hit her. It all hurt so bad.

When the celebrating had died down enough, the players of both sides lined up to shake hands. Christen had her head tilted towards the ground, trying to hide her tear ridden face from the UNC players and coaches. About halfway through the line, a voice she recognized softly said, “Good game, Christen” and put a warm hand on her back.

She knew exactly who it was but couldn’t face her. Tobin's touch felt like it was burning through Christen's jersey, and she wanted to reciprocate but she couldn't. She wasn't ready to face anyone but _especially_ not her.

“Thanks” she mustered quietly, in a shaky voice, as she kept moving through the line.

Afterwords, Stanford began to head back to their locker room as the tar heel girls kept celebrating on the field; posing with the trophy in their hats that read "CHAMPIONS".

Kelley was waiting for them in the tunnel. After the red card, she was forced to exit the sideline and wait the game out off the pitch.

Christen crashed into her teammate for a tight hug. They were both crying, hard. Christen began to cry even harder when she realized that had been Kelley’s last ever collegiate game.

“I’m sorry your senior year had to end like this Kel” Christen said in a weak voice that was muffled against Kelley’s shoulder.

“I wouldn’t of had it any other way. I’m sorry I got myself kicked out of this game. I really let you all down. But I'm so glad you were by my side out there tonight, and that you've been right there with me for the last three years. I love you Christen”

If the pain in Christen's chest felt like she'd been stabbed, Kelley's soft words twisted the knife.

“I love you too Kelley”

They finally pulled away from their hug, wiped their tears, and followed behind everyone else to the locker room; they were side by side and had a hand over each other’s shoulder. In front of the entrance, another senior, Alicia Jenkins, stopped them and said to Christen: “They want you, me, and Coach to speak to the media”

“Right now?”

“Yeah”

_What cruel fucking people to make us answer a bunch of their stupid questions right after we lost in a championship game._

“Okay, I’m coming.”

She parted from Kelley then followed Alicia through the tunnel to the media room and they entered to see their coach already seated. They sat down too and were told Coach Ratcliffe would take the first questions, Alicia would be second, and Christen would be third.

While the other two had been speaking, she had been staring off into the corner somewhere, with a blank expression drawn on her face, just trying not to cry. When they finally reached her, the first question she was asked was about what went down once Kelley left.

"There wasn't very much time in the game and I knew that we were going to have to give it our all. I just didn't want our mentality to be negative because we lost one of our best players. I knew that we did have a chance and we could have won it, even playing a man down.”

The next question was about North Carolina’s defensive pressure in the first half.

“It was really disruptive and I felt like we had so many open players and we were just struggling to get them the ball. We played 90 minutes of soccer that wasn't the type of soccer that we wanted to play today.”

After she finished answering the last question, the media people thanked them and they were dismissed.

The rest of the night's events were a blur to Christen. Coach Ratcliffe’s post game talk, the group hug the team shared, the bus ride back to the hotel; she just tuned it all out.

Once back in her hotel room, she dropped her bags onto the floor and crashed onto the bed. Tears immediately began to fall from her face as she lie there in a fetal position.

She felt so empty. All the success the team had had and the undefeated season meant nothing now. To her, it was just another year that ultimately ended in failure and disappointment.

Christen didn’t sleep much that night.

_I'm not good enough. I'm just not good enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this point, stuff gets kinda blurry. They may or may not of seen each other much in the time period between this game and Christen's call up to be an alternate for the team at the 2012 Olympics. I'll just be skipping straight there most likely. Sorry if this feels like it's moving slow but I promise the pining will start very soon! Expect preath's first feels within the next 2-4 chapters :^)


	7. London 2012: Going for Gold!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin wins another gold medal with the USWNT and Christen gets her first National Team experience as an alternate for them at the 2012 Olympics in London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh I am so sorry this update took so long! Procrastination is really something, huh? Anyways so much of this information was made possible by Christen's blog (which she hasn't updated since the beginning of the 2015 World Cup) so thank you past Christen! Also the story about Kling and CP playing ping pong with Neymar is true and so funny! She talks about how unkempt she had been at the Olympics and how embarrassed she was once she realized she was playing with one of the greatest footballers on the planet! It is so entertaining and worth a read, plus there's a funny picture of a sweaty CP post ping pong. This was all talked about in one of her blog posts which is link number 5. Link number 6 is a blog post about pre-olympic activities in London which include pictures of them playing golf and riding broomsticks like in Harry Potter. If you've never seen the iconic videos of Kelley O'Hara slipping in wet grass and falling flat on her ass while running with a broom stick or stinking up the golf course you're truly missing out. Also the last link is a US soccer video from those Olympics where Tobin is just being Tobin and also loses to Kelley in a game of pool. Enjoy!
> 
> Sources:  
> https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/peek-inside-the-2012-london-olympic-village/19/  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_–_Women%27s_tournament  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_–_Women%27s_tournament  
> https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/46425/a-thousand-words-on-keeping-your-head-up.html?verified=1  
> http://footballschristenpress.blogspot.com/2012/08/my-olympic-blog.html  
> http://footballschristenpress.blogspot.com/2012/07/  
> https://youtu.be/edeyex1Hkao

Christen got her first call up to the National Team in April before the 2012 London Olympics. She ended up getting named as an Olympic alternate without a National Team cap. Tobin was named to main Olympic roster. The team would win gold for the second Olympics in a row. Too bad alternates don't get medals.

THURSDAY AUGUST 9, 2012 WEMBLEY STADIUM; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

Tobin’s POV

It was electric, it was indescribable, like no environment she’d ever played in before. The gold medal match in Beijing had been really crowded but this was like really, really crowded. What made it even more special was they got to play at _the_ Wembley Stadium, in front of _eighty thousand_ people, which she would learn later. Now, the team got to stand on that platform and have an Olympic gold medal placed around their necks in the middle of _the_ Wembley Stadium, in front of all these people. Even though a World Cup win last year would’ve been nice, this was a redeeming moment for the U.S Women’s National Team.

There was a press conference and then a brief little party in the locker room. Later that evening, they had a celebratory dinner back in the village and headed to the common room to have a little fun. Dawn was finally letting the girls drink to commemorate the gold and Tobin couldn’t wait to let loose after being strictly sober for months in preparation for these fourteen days.

All the girls on the team were spread around the common and leisure areas mingling. Some were sitting on the leather couches or playing pool inside, and a few were sitting in chairs outside. Tobin played pool with Cheney and ARod for a while, throwing back more than a few flutes of champagne. It was just nice to be able to laugh with her friends and have a good time without stressing about the next match. The alcohol had definitely loosened her up a bit.

After their second game of pool Tobin said “Hey guys I’m gonna go catch some fresh air”

“Probably because you don’t want to get smacked again and I totally understand Tobes” Lauren Cheney responded, cackling.

“Yeah Toby, first Kelley swept you a few weeks ago and now we're destroying you tonight. Face it, you just suck at pool” ARod chimed in.

“Nuh-uh! I was just trying not to hurt your guys' feelings, I absolutely let you win those games! Besides I’m just a little hot and it’s a nice cool evening; I’ll catch you two later”

“Surrre, that’s exactly what you told Kelley. See you around though” Cheney parted.

Tobin scoffed, rolled her eyes sarcastically, put her cue down, and began to make her way towards the outdoor area. She halted when through the glass doors she saw a girl with curly hair sitting by herself in one of the cushy chairs on the patio. Tobin decided she’d go grab two flutes of champagne for them. She got the glasses from the bar and headed out to the patio.

The cool London night felt so nice, and everything outside was so still in opposition to all the commotion inside.

“Hey stranger” Tobin said as she approached Christen, who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, staring out into the rest of the village.

Christen whipped her head around to see who it was, and smiled when their eyes met. “Hey! Watcha’ got there?”

“Just a little bubbly” Tobin responded handing the glass to her and sitting down on the chair across from hers.

“Ugh you’re _always_ trying to get me to drink, I guess this is the ‘peer pressure’ my parents warned me about” Christen joked.

“Well, I’ve been known to be a bad influence” she shrugged “but were adults now and you have to have some champagne when celebrating a gold medal!”

“I’ve told you I’m not much of a drinker, but I’ll have this one glass. Plus, it’s not my medal to celebrate”

Tobin sat back and thought about this for a little while. The alternates came along and had to train with the team but always had to sit in the stands during games; and technically since they weren’t on the official roster they didn’t get a medal. _That’s kind of fucked up honestly_. _The alternates were apart of the team in almost every aspect and there were a few subs who hardly played but they still got gold medals_.

“Okay you’re right” Tobin broke the silence “It’s messed up that you guys have to come all the way out here and practice with us, and get this whole ‘Olympic experience’ but you don’t get to take home the medal. Regardless, you should get to be apart of the celebration. We couldn’t of done it without you!” Tobin grinned.

“I mean, you literally _did_ do it without us but I’ll take this partial credit” Christen giggled.

“You killed the back line more than a few times in training, even though Pia put you in the center midfield which isn’t usually your position. You really earned our respect out there and kept us sharp. Honestly, you should’ve been on the main roster Christen, your attack is totally deadly”

“That makes me feel a little better. A gold medal would be nice but I’m super grateful I had this experience. Maybe if I hadn’t gone to Sweden I would’ve gotten a senior call-up earlier but now I’m hopeful for the future”

“Yeah seriously dude, Pia is blind if she can’t see you belong on this team”

“Thanks” Christen said, flashing a soft smile.

They both took sips of champagne while holding eye contact. Tobin found Christen’s bright green eyes so captivating. They sort of startled Tobin whenever she found them staring directly at her, but startled her in a good way; they were just beautiful eyes.

“What were you doing out here all by yourself? You were missing all the fun inside”

“Me and Kling and a few others were sitting out here chatting and then they wanted to go inside to have this ‘fun’ you speak of but I wanted to stay and enjoy the views”

This made Tobin laugh a little “Views?”

“Yeah, views of the Village”

“What’s there to look at? Just some buildings?”

“I don’t think you understand”

“Well… then help me understand“ Tobin invited.

“You see, this is my first Olympic Games. You’ve been here before plus you’ve been on this team for nearly five years now, you’re sort of a veteran at this point. But me, this is my first experience with the National Team and the first time I’ve ever set foot in an Olympic Village. You know we are in the presence of the world’s greatest athletes at this very moment? The two fastest men in the world, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, walked by me just a few days ago. Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony freaking stopped by to give us congratulations on the gold! Every day I pass by gymnasts under five feet tall and volleyball players nearing seven feet; world class heavy weightlifters who could pick up the marathoners and toss them like pebbles. Hell, the other day Kling and I played ping pong with Neymar! Neymar for God’s sake! The best footballer in the world! This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. But now, we’re going home soon and it's ending. This has been a dream and I just want to keep taking it all in and savoring it before it ends. Maybe it’s not really _my_ dream since I got to dip my toe into the Olympic experience and didn’t _actually_ win a medal, but whatever this has been I don’t want it to end. You know when you wake up in the middle of a dream you didn’t want to be over? I guess I just don’t want to wake up.” Christen rambled, waving her hands animately, and speaking with such enthusiasm.

Tobin had never seen her speak so passionately about something before. She seemed to just lose herself in her thoughts and imagination and words. Tobin didn’t really know how to respond to that.

“Yeah I’ve definitely had a few of those dreams” was all she could muster.

“Oh… sorry I got a little too excited there, it's probably the champagne. I tend to babble when I'm tipsy” Christen was blushing

“No, no, it’s fine! It was pretty cute actually” _Okay that was definitely the alcohol talking._

“Oh my gosh” Christen said, chuckling uncomfortably and palming her face “now I’m really embarrassed”

“No, seriously its nice to see a footballer speak with such excitement about the Olympics. Like I’ve said before, we all see winning the World Cup as the ultimate accomplishment in this game, and think of the Olympics as this sort of inferior thing that just happens. But I’ve never really thought about it like that before. I guess at my last two Games, I’ve been so wrapped up in trying to win that I forgot I was among the greatest athletes in the world. Now I feel ridiculous for not seeing it your way before”

“We all have different perspectives I guess. I really thought after I won the Hermann Trophy senior year that my international career would launch from there. I really thought I would get the senior call-up and go to the 2011 World Cup. When that didn’t happen it really hurt, ya know? Then when the league back home folded and I left to Sweden, I knew my chances of a call-up got even smaller since I wasn’t living in America. So getting the opportunity to come here, and be apart of this, was a really big deal to me. I’m not going home with a medal or anything really tangible at all. Instead, I’m going home with memories and an experience I’ll never forget plus hope in my heart. Hope that I’ve proven my worth over the last few months and hope that I’ll finally earn a real spot on this team”

“Here’s to hope!” Tobin smiled as she raised her glass. Christen followed and their glasses collided with a “Clink!” and then they each took a sip.

“I guarantee four years from now, we’ll be in Rio together; _hopefully_ with gold medals around our necks. I’m serious, there’s no way you don’t get a spot on this team after the way you’ve performed in training the last few months”

“Thanks” Christen said as they smiled at each other, “come over to this side so you can enjoy the views” she invited.

The way Christen was seated was facing the rest of the village and the only view the chair Tobin had taken offered was one of the building wall.

“Alright” Tobin got up and sat down right next to Christen with a few inches of space between them.

“Don’t be a stranger” Christen said gazing at the girl next to her, inviting her to move in closer. Tobin smiled back and moved over so that their shoulders and thighs were touching. They sat in silence for a while, sipping from their glasses, taking in the "views", and feeling the each other's warmth. The warm, bubbly feeling that the champagne had given Tobin felt so nice and she could tell it had helped Christen open up a bit more.

“Tobin Heath: USL W-League champion, two time NCAA champ, and now _two time_ Olympic gold medalist. I’m truly in the presence of a legend! What can’t this girl do?”

“Win a World Cup apparently”

They both laughed at this as they stared out in front of them, enjoying the night and cool English air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked this update. I've been such a procrastinator lately but I'm hoping to start updating every 1-3 days from now on--- it's what you all deserve! Don't forget to leave feedback in the comment section if you have any and as always... thanks for reading!


	8. Christen's First Cap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen's first start and appearance with the USWNT goes very well. We also get our first Preath™ goal!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a shocking turn of events... I am updating for a.... second day in a row! Wow I hope I keep this up! Anyways you guys should really read Christen's old blog posts, there's truly some gold in there! Plus the picture she uses in the entry about her first game (link 2) is a picture of Tobin running up to hug her after scoring(◕‿◕✿). The quote from Alex/bus buddy situation are both true and can be found in the first link. Christen also writes about her angst in link 3. Enjoy!
> 
> Sources:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQoi4kgB1z8  
> http://footballschristenpress.blogspot.com/2013/02/  
> http://footballschristenpress.blogspot.com/2013/03/  
> https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/tyresoe-ff-frauen/2013/2/

Christen’s first cap with the National Team finally came six months after the Olympics, where she’d get the start against Scotland in a friendly match.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2013 EVERBANK FIELD; JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

This is what she’d been working for for years now, but that didn’t mean nerves weren't kicking in. _Oh my God, is this real? Is this really happening?_ The referee blew her whistle and Alex Morgan kicked the ball from the center circle back towards Shannon Boxx, officially starting play. _Well, I guess this is real._ Christen was not only getting her first National Team cap, but her first start too. Everything felt almost surreal but this wasn’t just a day dream anymore, it was happening in real life and she needed to get her head in the game.

In the thirteenth minute after a foul, Ali Krieger took a free kick that flew towards the goal. A Scottish defender headed it out, right to Christen, who was at the top of the box in the penalty arc. She used her lower body to control the ball and then half volleyed it with her left foot, causing it to sail through the air, over the keeper’s dive attempt, and into the back of the net.

USA - 1 || SCO - 0

 _Did that just happen?_ She was shocked but ecstatic. _I just scored my first goal in the U.S jersey_. The crowd roared as Tobin, who was screaming for her, and all her other teammates immediately came in for a group hug where she was sandwiched in the middle. Her smile stretched from ear to ear and her heart was racing. Her teammates were just as excited as she was which made the goal even better.

Christen had had her moment and figured she’d be done for the day but she was wrong.

In the thirty-second minute, Kelley passed the ball up the left sideline to Tobin, who was at the corner of the big box. Tobin let it fly, all the way across to outside the right corner of the six yard box, and a running Christen headed the ball into the goal.

USA- 2 || SCO - 0

 _Another one? I can’t believe it. This has to be a dream._ Christen stuck her arms out and ran to her teammates that were already making their way towards her. Carli Lloyd, Kelley O’Hara, Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger, Christine Rampone, Becky Saurbrunn, and Abby Wambach all came to congratulate Christen. Then number seventeen came jogging towards her.

They collided for a hug and Tobin said “Nice header!” into Christen’s ear.

“Thanks!” She replied with a huge grin as they pulled apart.

That wouldn’t be her last highlight of the day, one more was coming.

At minute fifty-two, Christen found herself in the high left corner of the box, about to be swarmed by defenders. She kicked it out to Shannon Boxx who was positioned a few yards outside the penalty arc. Boxx gained control of the ball and sent it flying into the goal.

USA - 3 || SCO - 0

 _That was my first assist as a member of the U.S team!_ Christen and everyone else ran to hug Shannon and celebrate this glorious moment.

In the last forty minutes of the game, both Scotland and the U.S would score once each.

FINAL: USA - 4 || SCO - 1

Christen got pulled to the sideline and interviewed before being named Budweiser’s "Woman of the Match" after finishing with three points in her first appearance with the U.S. Later in the locker room after all the interviews and the press conference, Coach Sermanni gave the post game talk and everyone began to change out of their uniforms.

Christen was sitting in front of her locker, pulling her socks off when she heard a familiar voice in front of her say “Um… excuse me Miss?”

She looked up to see a barefoot Tobin, just in her game shorts and sports bra, holding her jersey out in front of her. She continued after Christen looked up “I don’t mean to bother you but could you… autograph my jersey?” She was clearly joking and trying to hold back a smile.

Christen laughed and rolled her eyes “Why?”

“Because you’re the Player of the Game or— er— what’s the called? Ah yes the Woman of the Match!”

“Don’t forget: _Budweiser_ Woman of the Match!”

“Of course! How could I forget!” They both laughed at this.

“I’m so proud of you, Press. Three points in your first international cap is unheard of. But I’ve seen what you can do all through college and training with the team so I can’t say I’m surprised”

“Well thank you very much. I feel really proud to wear this jersey and for once, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I’ve also never played in front of a crowd that big before! You could really feel the energy of the fans!”

“Yeah, we have the greatest fans in the world and they always bring the excitement to every game." She smiled before carrying on "Also, you should feel those things; you deserve it. Thanks for getting me that assist tonight, you made me look pretty good. Keep it up Pressi!” Tobin smiled and patted her shoulder before turning back to walk towards her own locker.

When everyone had changed and showered they all went to the bus to ride back to the hotel.

There were a few things that caused Christen angst while playing with the National Team. The thoughts of not being good enough or losing her newly found spot brought her angst. But one thing that brought her, arguably, the most angst was something she thought of as absurd: bus seats. During Christen's first go about with the National Team, there was a mix up that still haunted her to this day. She could still remember what happened in July of last year.

_She had (unknowingly) sat by herself in Alex and Tobin’s row on the bus during her first camp in April. They just took the row behind without saying anything but as Christen would later find out, this is a very superstitious and particular team._

_At the Olympics, Alex finally spoke up “Press, I know this is stupid and I hate to do this but… this is my seat and you’ve got to get out”_

_Christen remembered feeling a state of shock as she looked up at a very stern Alex in front of her. Tobin was standing behind Alex and looked like it took everything she had not to crack up in that moment._

_“Oh— um—“ she was stumbling over her words and unsure of how to respond“I am— so sorry— I didn’t—“_

_“I know you’re new so I didn’t expect you'd know about the whole ‘bus buddy’ business but we take it pretty seriously around here”_

_“Yeah— no— totally— I’ll-- just move” Christen still somehow couldn’t find her words._

_When she squeezed past Alex, holding her bag close to her chest, she looked at Tobin who mouthed “sorry” with apologetic eyes. Christen could feel her cheeks getting hot as she made her way to the row behind them. She put her bag in the outside seat and sat next to the window, staring at the floor in embarrassment._

_“Is this seat taken?” a sort of squeaky voice asked. Christen looked up to see Kling was the one inquiring._

_“No, it’s not. You’re welcome to sit here” she replied politely, removing her bag and placing it on her lap._

_Kling slid in next to her. From the aisle seat in the next row up, Tobin put her phone down and turned around to make eye contact with Christen through the space in between the chairs. She gave Christen a smile and a thumbs up in approval. This made Christen laugh and shake her head a little._

That whole ordeal still made Christen cringe but at least she had gotten a bus buddy out of it. She’d been sitting by herself since April camp but from that day on, they always sat together. This allowed them to get closer during the Olympics, especially since they were alternates together. They kept sitting next to one another in the stands to watch the team's matches and eventually found themselves playing ping pong with Neymar and Marcelo that one day in the common room. In January of this year, Kling had signed with Tyreso and had been playing with her for the past month. Having a fellow American _and_ National Team member to keep her company all the way on another continent was nice, and they grew closer. Once collegiate enemies, now close colleagues! 

Unfortunately, Kling wasn’t on the roster for this string of friendlies so Christen would have to take a row all by herself.

She walked from the locker room alone, was the first to board the bus, satin the window seat of a row near the front and plopped her bag down next to her.

As the rest of the team filed on, they gave passing words of approval like _“Great stuff tonight, Press!”_ , _“You were on fire girl!”_ or things similar to that. This made her feel a better about sitting by herself; it made her feel like these girls actually like her and she belonged on this team.

Tobin and Alex were the last ones on and Tobin gave Christen a little wink and a smile as she passed by.

The doors closed and the bus driver began to pull out. Christen leaned her head against the window, which was frigid from the cold winter air, and lost herself in her thoughts. The cool glass felt good against her face which still felt hot from her shower.

_Maybe I am good enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our first Preath goal looked an awful lot like our first goal of the 4 star era/first Preath goal of the 4 star era from the first victory tour game against Ireland the other night! I guess Christen assisted Tobin on that one and Tobin assisted Christen in her first cap but the pass across the box to the running player is almost identical. Hope you liked this and I hope I keep updating this often. We'll see what happens though ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	9. Roomies Do Manis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to a tweet/instagram post by Christen, we know they roomed together for a Toronto friendly against Canada. This was inspired by that post

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God. I don't know what else to say about this chapter. It's taken me three days to write along with FBI level instagram stalking, twitter advanced searching, internet scouring, and much more to get all this info. I don't have the energy to describe each link to y'all but I'll put stars next to ones that are a funny tweet or instagram post or content gold. This also took me three days to write because in doing all my research I've planned out where I am taking this for the next 3-7 chapters or so and let me just say: in the next chapter, things get interesting but in the chapter after that things get REALLY interesting. Two hints: Tyreso and PSG play each other in the Champion's League and the USWNT plays Costa Rica in the Gold Cup finals. No spoilers.
> 
> I just have a few things to say before I let you read this update.
> 
> 1\. Christen posted a picture on instagram and twitter of a bunch of nail polish with the caption "With @TobinHeath as my roomie, I want to reprint my nails every day. . .! 😍💅💁" and I've never laughed harder because Tobs doesn't seem like the nail painting type. Old photos would prove me wrong plus she used to dress girlier and was only 25. Also here's a link to a picture from their warmups before the friendly taken by ISI photos confirming the nail colors they ended up choosing from the line up--> https://isiphotos.photoshelter.com/image?&_bqG=100&_bqH=eJwLKfT0NfGKL0k3KDIOK_eNTA3J9khJdvYtL822MjQ0szI0MABhIOkZ7xLsbJucmJeYkqidVZqXqm1kYGisBhaOd_RzsS0BsoP9g0JsXRxDXIHs0GDXoHhPF9tQkHbXrADzVP.07GRPE7V4R.cQ2.LUxKLkDDVnkAoAhIwn4Q--&GI_ID=  
> Please appreciate this lol I scoured the internet for it and ISI really came thru!  
> 2\. The details such as dates and stuff of their travel wouldn't of been possible without the tweets of Whitney, Christen, and Tobin so thank God they gave us those. I learned how to use twitter's advanced search feature and it was key to writing this chapter and will definitely come up clutch for future updates.  
> 3\. Most of the interactions are fake but trust me-- TRUST ME-- so much of the tiny details come from my intense research and I need y'all to appreciate the accuracy.  
> 4\. When I first became a preath stan I saw all the stuff about Tobin being with Shirley on tumblr and really didn't buy it BUT then while stalking shirley's instagram feed (lol) I came across a post of things she had received for her 30th birthday (august 2015) and a certain note attached to a certain bouquet of flowers caught my attention. If you zoom in closely you can see what it says. It's signed "-Tobin" for one, but she also calls Shirley "babe" and says "Te amo mi amore" or "I love you, my love" for those that don't speak spanish. IDK about y'all but I don't call my friends "babe" or "my love" plus "te amo" is the romantic way to say you love someone in spanish so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> 5\. I know it seems silly to base a whole chapter off a picture of nail polish but I promise this chapter establishes important key points for the future of this fic and also the twitter content we got from the #eurocrew all from this 6 day window is SO GOOD. Not only did their tweets give me the times they traveled to and from Canada, Tobin also calls W and C her "#travelcompanions", Christen misses the "breakfast club banter" of W and T, and Whitney gives us an iconic photo of T and C with cards in hand looking absolutely miserable during their 3 hour flight delay.  
> 6\. One thing we'll never know is if Tobin and Christen sign their texts with "-T" and "-C" but in my fantasy they do (~˘▾˘)~ so I'm just throwing that out there  
> 7\. Basically everything in this fucking chapter down to the nail colors, travel days, and events such as the YouTube video and Tobin's 25th birthday are accurate and all come from my research so once again PLEASE APPRECIATE IT this shit was so exhausting to write but I have a mission and its to bring you fic based as closely to reality as possible so here I am.
> 
> Now that I've written an entire other chapter in the beginning notes, I'll leave the links to sources in the end notes.
> 
> PLEASE ENJOY!!!

The USWNT would travel to Toronto to play the Canadian National Team for a friendly game, their first friendly in about two months. Tobin and Christen would room together.

MONDAY MAY 27, 2013; TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

Tobin’s POV

Tobin had traveled from Paris to Toronto to meet the rest of the team for a June friendly. Since PSG was in the midst of the Champions League, she had to play a game the day everyone else was traveling and would be the last to arrive. Living in Paris was a dream but that also meant long, painful, intercontinental flights every time National Team duties called.

She had been asleep for most the flight but awoke to the wheels of the plane touching down and felt a little disoriented. She looked at her watch to see the time: 6:42 PM. Tobin then pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on to check while waiting for everyone to exit the plane. Immediately, a text that had been sent while she was airborne popped up. 

* * *

**[10:52 AM—NEW MESSAGE]** _Hey roomie, It’s Christen! Not sure why I haven't gotten your number before but I got it from Cheney, I hope you don’t mind. Any ways, we’re in room 212. I thought I’d let you know in case I was asleep or absent when you arrive. You had safe travels I hope? Shoot me a text when you land! -C_

* * *

Reading this made Tobin scoff and smile. _A text written like it’s a work email with commas and all. Must be a Stanford thing._ What also humored her was the fact that Christen had identified herself in the text but still signed it “C”. In her response, Tobin thought she’d play along.

* * *

**[REPLY- 6:43 PM]** _Hey! Thx 4 the txt & info just landed see u soon -T_

* * *

When she finally exited the plane and had gotten her bag from the carousel, Tobin hailed a cab. She felt relieved when the car arrived at the hotel. The driver helped her carry her suitcase into the lobby after she paid him. Tobin got the key card from the desk attendant then made her way up to room 212.

She slid the card into the holder, turned the handle to open the door and entered the room. A cool rush of hotel AC hit her as she walked in to the completely dark room. _Christen must be out to dinner with everyone else or something._ Figuring she was alone, Tobin felt along the wall for the light switch, then flipped it up.

She immediately realized her mistake when the light exposed a sleeping Christen, lying in the bed near the far wall. Before Tobin could react and turn the light back off, Christen was lifting her head from the pillow to see who had disturbed her slumber. When her eyes caught sight of the girl across the room, Christen’s confused “just woke up” frown turned to a soft smile “Hey you” she said as she sat up.

“I am— so sorry” Tobin apologized as she put her hands up in the air “Since you didn’t respond to my text I should’ve assumed you were asleep but I—“

“No it’s okay you didn’t know. I’ll survive, I promise” Christen smiled and bit down on her bottom lip.

“Okay thank God, we’ll need you out on the pitch!”

They both laughed at the joke before Christen asked “How are you feeling? You must be pretty jet lagged”

“Yeah I feel sort of like a corpse right now but I’m sure you do too”

“Yes, definitely. Playing for teams on different continents isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world. I fell asleep as soon as I got here” Christen suddenly furrowed her brow “What time is it now?”

“About eight”

“Oh my! I’m gonna be a total zombie tomorrow at training”

“That makes two of us. We can be dead together; they say zombies gotta stick with each other…”

“Yes that famous saying” Christen responded as she smiled and then inquired “Are you hungry or something? If you want to go grab a bite I’ll go with to keep you company”

“Honestly, I’m too tired to think about food right now. That bed is calling my name”

“I was hoping you’d say that cause I really don’t want to leave these comfy sheets”

“Let me get settled real quick and then those lights are going right back off”

“Sounds good”

Christen watched as Tobin put her back pack and suitcase down then slip off her flip-flops. Tobin flipped off the light switch and climbed into her bed in the old hoodie and tar heel soccer shorts she was wearing. She took her glasses off and placed them on the nightstand then heard a soft voice say “Good night Tobin”

“Good night Christen, sweet dreams” As soon as her eyes shut, sleep overcame her.

THURSDAY MAY 30, 2013; TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

Tobin’s POV

The last few days had consisted of hard trainings. Yesterday after training, Kelley and Christen had shot a video for U.S Soccer’s YouTube channel then later that night the whole team had gone out to eat to celebrate Tobin’s twenty-fifth birthday. Today, they had the day off and then they’d have two easy trainings Friday and Saturday before Sunday’s game.

Tobin and Christen had slept in then went down to grab late breakfast with Whitney Engen. The three were the only members of the team that didn’t play for American clubs and dubbed themselves the “euro crew”. They were also the team’s only jet lagged members currently and had been late to breakfast every day this whole week and jokingly started calling themselves the "breakfast club”. Their morning meal was always filled with plenty of laughter and playful banter.

After they finished breakfast, they participated in the usual recovery day activities such as walks around the city and finding a good coffee shop to get their mid-day caffeine fix. By the time they had gotten back to the hotel, it was about two o’clock.

Christen decided to read the book she brought, _A Tale for the Time Being_ , while Tobin sat on the ground in front of the small glass coffee table they had. She was planning to paint her nails. Alex had gotten her in the habit of painting her nails. Tobin had always saw it as a sort of “girly” activity but she then realized it could be kind of fun. Now, she carried a bunch of different colors with her while she traveled. It could be something to do during a layover or on days like this.

Christen kept her nose in her book while Tobin pulled out all the tiny, brightly colored bottles of polish and placed them neatly on the desk. For what felt like forever, she stared at the line of bottles in front of her, unsure of which one to pick. She decided to get Christen's opinion “Which color?” she asked moving herself to the side, revealing the row of nail polish bottles to Christen.

“Oh my God where did you get all those?”

“I keep ‘em with me when I go place to place”

“Wow okay-- with so many options, this is a touch decision, I don’t know what to pick!”

“Yeah me neither”

“I kind of like the dark green-ish one, at least that’s what I’d pick for myself”

“You can use some if you want”

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course”

“Fun! Alright I’ll join you” Christen marked her page, put her book aside, then got up from the bed to sit on the ground across the table from Tobin.

“I’m still having a hard time choosing”

“This one” Christen said pushing a light grey and turquoise looking color in Tobin’s direction.

“Good choice” she said, smiling at Christen who then said “I’ll paint yours if you do mine. My right nails always end up looking sloppy because my left hand is kind of shaky”

“Deal”

They started with Tobin’s, she laid her hands on the table flat and fully extended her fingers so Christen could paint them. Christen kept her eyes down, concentrating on her work, while starting the conversation up “So, how is it playing for _the_ Paris Saint-Germain?”

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before”

"I bet”

“Finding an apartment and getting set up at a bank and all that with a language barrier isn’t the easiest thing in the world”

“Yeah you’re telling me. Even though I’ve been there a while, I still hardly know any Swedish. That language just makes my brain hurt”

“I’ll give you that, French is not as hard to pick up as Swedish. At first I struggled but I can make my way around now”

“That’s good! I hope one day I can say the same. What's it like living in Paris?”

“Paris is a pretty brutal city”

“But Paris is the city of love!”

“That and the city of pickpockets. You definitely have to watch your purse when walking through the streets. Also, when I was staying in a hotel for the first two weeks, I had my phone, jewelry, and a bunch of stuff stolen out of my room”

“Oh no! That’s terrible!”

“Yeah it was. But once I got settled in and made some friends, it was all smooth from there. I'm glad I got out of my comfort zone, I love it now-- all the bustling people, cafes, and boulangeries”

“Boo-lan-jerrys?” Christen struggled to repeat the french word.

“It means bakery” Tobin smiled.

“Ah yes, of course. How is the style of play different over there?”

“It’s way faster and the margin for error is a lot smaller. Here, if you make a mistake, a teammate will always run up to pat your back and say ‘nice try’. But in France, if you make a mistake the only response you get from your teammates is to suck it up and ‘Allez!’ which is ‘go’ in french”

“Sweden is kind of like that. It’s definitely faster than any pace I’ve ever played in America and the coaches can be pretty cut-throat. It was quite an adjustment in the beginning but it’s made me a better player”

“Me too! I’m glad you understand what it’s like to play European football. I mean the style of play and travel and all that”

“The euro crew will always have eachother’s backs!” Christen looked back up for the first time in a while and smiled.

“Yes we will” Tobin smiled back.

Averting her eyes back down, Christen took the conversation in a different direction “So… who are your besties over there?”

“Oh I’ve made some really good friends. J’adore mes amis! The first friend I made was the young American prodigy Lindsey Horan. Have you heard of her?”

“Yes I have! She skipped out on being a tar heel to sign for PSG right out of high school, correct?”

“Yup. It was a pretty bold move but she’s a goal-scoring beast on the field. Hopefully she’ll come play in our new league here at some point so she can get some senior call ups because she’s the future of our midfield. Any ways, Lindsey was one of the only girls on the team who spoke good english and was the only other American there so we kind of just clung to each other. But I’ve branched out and made friends with a lot of the team now. I’m kind of sad to leave them for a little”

“That’s good! Kling and I have definitely became real good friends since she signed to Tyreso. Plus recently, I moved in with my two Spanish teammates Vero and Jenni. I’d say they’re my best friends on the team. They’re also teaching me Spanish which is so fun! But I _really_ should be catching up with my Swedish”

_You know I’ve actually picked up a little Spanish from one of my teammates…_

Christen saw Tobin zone out for that moment then inquired “If you don’t mind me asking… have you met any one— well you know—“

Tobin was unsure of what the question was “Anyone what?”

The green eyed girl across from her looked a little flushed then reposed the question “I guess what I’m trying to ask is… have you been dating around or anything? I'm sure you're super busy and all but Paris _is_ the city of love”

The question threw Tobin off a little bit. She had an answer in the back of her mind but suddenly felt shy and reluctant to be honest. _Should I tell her? It’s just Christen… she won’t judge me right?_

“Uh—“ Tobin was stuttering then decided to come clean to her roommate “I have met someone”

“Oh?” Christen said raising an eyebrow but still facing down, concentrating on her brush strokes.

“Yeah, but I won’t go too deep into it since it’s um… a budding romance”

“A budding romance?” Christen looked up at Tobin and laughed.

“Okay-- not sure why I used that term but it’s just fairly new and delicate and I’m not sure where it’s going so I won’t spill all the details”

“That’s fine, I totally respect that. All I want to know is this: does your special someone make you happy?”

Tobin smiled and responded “ _Definitely_ ”

“Then that’s all that matters. I won’t press you with any more questions but whoever this ‘special someone’ is… they’re a very lucky guy”

Those words hit Tobin like a pile of bricks. Christen was obviously straight so of course she’d assume Tobin would be too. Suddenly Tobin wanted to tell Christen everything. She wanted to tell her all about the girl she’d met in Paris and that no one she’d ever be with could be called a lucky 'guy’. _You can tell Christen! She’s cool and probably totally accepting. Just tell her…_ But Tobin couldn’t. She had only recently gotten over her inner battle with her faith and sexuality, come out to her parents, and just accepted that she was born this way in the past few years.

Talking about who she liked and anything pertaining to her sexuality had always made Tobin very uncomfortable and even though she’d come to terms with it, the subject was still a tough topic for her to open up about. She decided to keep her mouth shut.

“Yeah” she finally responded.

This part of the conversation suddenly brought the memories of the last few months back to Tobin’s mind.

_She wasn’t sure how it all had happened. It just sort of… did. One of Lindsey Horan’s close friends on the team was a Costa Rican named Shirley who spoke english pretty well. Tobin began to hang out with them more and more outside of training but never with Shirley alone. Then one evening changed everything._

_The team went out to dinner in Montmartre, a high hill top in the heart of Paris with a view of nearly the entire city, to celebrate a win sometime late February. They had ended up sitting next each other at the end of the table with Lindsey a ways away, and the rest of the night was a blur. Tobin had a few too many glasses of Bordeaux and whenever she was wine drunk, she became what some would call “flirty”. Shirley was definitely tipsy too._

_They conversed the whole night, laughing about the stupidest things, the way you do when alcohol is involved. It was as if they were the only two people in the whole restaurant and Tobin felt something growing between them. After dinner was finished, they took a walk around the area, passing by cute bistros and street artists. When they arrived at the steps of the Sacre-Coeur, a church behind Montmartre’s beautiful overlook, they sat down together on its steps to take in the view._

_Tobin had been in Paris about a month but had yet to make it to this part of the city. It was so pretty, they way you could see so many of Paris’ iconic structures and the city lights. While she was deep in thought, Shirley wrapped her arms around Tobin’s right arm and pulled herself in closer so they were huddled together; using each other’s body heat for warmth._

_It startled her and made her heart beat quicker and Tobin knew what that feeling meant. Since it was a cold night the contact helped the two keep warm, but the heat was also warming up Tobin’s insides. There was something there, between them, a connection of some sorts or some flying sparks; and neither of them could deny it._

_Later they walked the long and steep flights of steps back down into the city and took the train home to their apartments together. Surprisingly, they both lived fairly close and exited on the same stop. Shirley’s apartment was the nearest to the stop. Tobin walked with her to the entrance, her hand around Shirley’s waist and Shirley’s hands placed on her bicep and shoulder._

_“This is it, right?” She asked in a shaky voice, releasing her grip from Shirley and turning to face her._

_“Si”_

Tobin could still picture Shirley’s rosy cheeks in the low light and feel the waves of heat that were radiating through her that night, even though it was freezing outside.

_They held eye contact and stayed silent for a minute. Then, Shirley took Tobin’s right hand with her left and moved her own right hand up to the back of Tobin’s neck. She pulled Tobin down towards her for a kiss. Their lips brushed and they could feel each other’s hot breath— their lips were oh so close, but Tobin interrupted “I can’t— not tonight”_

_“¿Por que?”_

_“Just— not tonight”_

_“As you wish”_

_She moved her lips to Shirley’s cheek and laid a kiss there before pulling back._

_“Buenas noches” She said before squeezing Shirley's hand then stepping back and turning to walk away._

_She wanted nothing more than to taste Shirley’s lips that night and frankly, to do so much more. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Football was her job, and her teammates were her co-workers. She got hired to do a job, to be as professional as possible, and sleeping with her co-workers did not fall under the ‘professional’ behavior category. She’d had crushes on teammates before and they were painful; never ending the way Tobin wanted. At this point in her life she was an expert at suppressing these type of feelings so this would be a breeze— or so she thought._

_But it wasn’t a breeze._

_Every training, every game, every team breakfast, lunch, and dinner the sight of Shirley made her heart race and her mind go blank. One day in mid March, a few days after Tobin had gotten home from the Algarve Cup in Portugal, she had stayed after training to take some extra shots for about an hour. Once she finished, she made her way to the locker room which appeared empty. Tobin showered, dried off quickly, wrapped herself in a towel and went to her locker, standing in front of it to change. Since she thought she was alone, Tobin just dropped her towel and changed out in the open._

_She had pulled on her spandex and shorts and then her bra before she heard the entrance to the locker room open. She didn’t bother turning around to see who it was or covering up since she was mostly dressed any ways. Then Tobin heard foot steps approaching behind her, then felt hands wrap around her waist and someone's front pressed into her back. She inhaled sharply. Tobin knew exactly who it was; she knew that smell; she knew those small hands._

_“Tobin” she heard, but didn’t respond, instead just swallowing hard. Then the girl spoke again_ _“Tobin— I want you”_

_Her heart was beating so quickly and she could feel the other girl’s heart pounding just as fast. Tobin couldn’t talk, she was at a loss for words as the girl said more “Te necesito”_

_She felt a warm cheek press against her upper back, in between her shoulder blades. Then she felt a kiss placed on her right lower shoulder, where her sports bra left skin exposed. Tobin’s breathing hitched and she couldn’t hold back anymore. This wasn’t another crush on a straight girl that would end in unrequited love. No, this was real— just real, mutual feelings between the two of them._

_Fuck being professional._

_She finally got the courage to turn around and connect their lips. After that, the rest was history. Tobin and Shirley went on a few dates and slept together more than a few times before making it official two weeks later._

Yes, it had been nearly two months but it was still new and Tobin wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about it with Christen just yet.

“All done! Before you do mine, let me take a picture of this spread— it’s so cute and so instagram worthy!” Christen declared, clearly very excited.

Tobin chuckled and said “Okay, but don’t forget to at me”

“Of course” 

TUESDAY JUNE 4, 2013 PARIS, FRANCE

Tobin’s POV

She was happy to be back in Paris. After their 3-0 victory against Canada Sunday evening, the self proclaimed “euro crew” headed straight to the airport to catch their international flights so they could get back to their clubs as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, they were hit with a three hour delay which they passed with some card games.

When Tobin finally arrived back at her Parisian apartment on Monday, she dropped everything and crashed into her bed. Tobin awoke on Tuesday around noon and rolled to her side to check her phone which was laying on the night stand. She propped herself up with her elbow then hit the sleep button, illuminating the screen.

* * *

**[10:30 AM - NEW MESSAGE]** _It’s only been a day but I miss you and Whit so much already— eating my eggs and toast this morning without my breakfast gals just didn't feel right... Counting down the days until the Korean friendlies! -C_

* * *

Tobin cracked a smile, even though they were now in each other's contacts, Christen still signed the text "-C". Christen's email style of texting was pretty cute and _so_ Stanford even though Kelley's sloppy messages would say otherwise.

She then scrolled through the rest of her notifications. They were mostly news updates and then the last one was

**[TWITTER - 2 new mentions]**

which she tapped.

* * *

**Whitney Engen**

@whitneyengen

This was what the #eurocrew thought about our 3 hour delay last night… Good to be home @TobinHeath @ChristenPress 

[IMAGE]

9:42 PM · Jun 3, 2013

* * *

Tobin giggled at the attached image in the tweet and how miserable her and Christen looked with the cards in their hands. She reminisced slightly on the light they had made out of their painful delay with that game of "Go Fish". She then scrolled to the next mention.

* * *

**Christen Press**

@ChristenPress 

I could have used a little breakfast club banter this morning @whitneyengen @TobinHeath. I hope you are still asleep. 🌙😳 then 🌞😞

11:09 AM · Jun 4, 2013

* * *

Tobin smiled for a minute and then responded to Christen’s text. She'd keep up this whole "signing a text" thing.

* * *

**[12:06 PM - REPLY]** _Missing my travel companions a lot this morning :-( </3 but I’ll see y’all soon in Mass!!! -T_

* * *

They had to report to Boston in less than two weeks for two friendly matches against Korea any ways so she’d see the rest of the euro crew soon.

Tobin set her phone down on the night stand then rolled onto her back. She’d slept for so long and still felt tired.

_Man, jet lag is a bitch!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank the following people and things for making this update (plus planning for the next few chapters) possible  
> \- the instagram feeds of Shirley Cruz, Tobin, Lindsey Horan, Christen, Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg, Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, Vero Boquete, and Jenni Hermoso  
> -Christen's blog  
> -twitter's "advanced search" feature which helped me find tweets from Whitney, Christen, and Tobin letting me know the days the traveled to canada, what they were up to during camp, and how their travels home went  
> -ISI photos search feature to find super old pictures from matches  
> -wikipedia COMING THRU with the "____ in American Soccer" articles that give a detailed USWNT schedule for any year you choose
> 
> Okay here are the sources, remember that a '**' indicates its good tweet/instagram content you should look at (link 2 is the advanced search on Whitney's feed that shows the tweet of the picture of Christen and Tobin looking sad while playing cards and its so cute please love it ok thanks)
> 
> https://isiphotos.photoshelter.com/image?&_bqG=100&_bqH=eJwLKfT0NfGKL0k3KDIOK_eNTA3J9khJdvYtL822MjQ0szI0MABhIOkZ7xLsbJucmJeYkqidVZqXqm1kYGisBhaOd_RzsS0BsoP9g0JsXRxDXIHs0GDXoHhPF9tQkHbXrADzVP.07GRPE7V4R.cQ2.LUxKLkDDVnkAoAhIwn4Q--&GI_ID=  
> ** https://twitter.com/search?lang=en&q=(from%3Awhitneyengen)%20until%3A2013-06-06%20since%3A2013-05-20&src=typed_query **  
> ** https://twitter.com/search?lang=en&q=(from%3ATobinheath)%20until%3A2013-06-09%20since%3A2013-06-01&src=typed_query **  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_in_American_soccer#Senior_2  
> ** https://twitter.com/search?lang=en&q=(from%3Achristenpress)%20until%3A2013-06-05%20since%3A2013-05-09&src=typed_query **  
> ** https://www.instagram.com/p/Z5myN8rJk-/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet **  
> ** https://www.instagram.com/p/Z89aHkLJnJ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet **  
> ** https://www.instagram.com/p/Z_Pz-KrJj3/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet **  
> https://www.instagram.com/p/Zv9M6CMftY/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet  
> ** https://youtu.be/0qs22_QEzVs **
> 
> I’ve been to Paris before and on my last night there I visited Montmartre (it’s famous for its overlook to the city, iconic bistros and cafes, the Moulin Rouge, and being the former home of many famous artists such as picasso). It’s a high hill top and you have to climb like 6 super steep flights of stairs to get up to it but it’s so worth it! In front of the sacré-cœur there’s a look out where you can see basically the whole city (eiffel tower and such). I walked around with friends, wandered inside the sacré-cœur and sat on it’s steps to see the view, bought a painting from a street artist, and visited picasso’s old apartment. It’s so pretty and so romantic if you ever find yourself in paris (cause people just happen to be in paris sometimes lmao) please please please visit it. look up some pictures of it if you’ve never been so you can get the idea and see how pretty it is. 
> 
> ALSO just to let you know I start college in three weeks and I know when that happens I probably won't update often (I'm talking weeks and possible even months in between updates) so I will try to update as often as possible to get pretty far in before I become too busy.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the longest update yet! This was also the first one written across multiple days but I kept it from Tobin's POV because I'll need Christen's for the next one


	10. 2013-14 Champion's League: Tyresö vs. PSG, game 1/2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen's club beats Tobin's in the first round of the Champion's League. The crew of Americans on Tyresö go out to celebrate after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too much to say about this one. It's sort of a set up chapter for the next few. Short and sweet.
> 
> Sources:  
> https://equalizersoccer.com/2013/10/16/uefa-champions-league-americans-score-in-zorky-win/  
> http://www.football-lineups.com/match/168053/  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_in_American_soccer#Senior_2  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3uc871_Aw  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013–14_UEFA_Women%27s_Champions_League#Round_of_32

Tyresö had just beaten Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the first leg of the Champions League in Sweden and would go to play them again in Paris a week later. Ashlyn Harris had an outstanding game, blocking many key shots and only allowing a penalty to go in while Christen scored both of their goals, the winning one being assisted by Meghan Klingenberg.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9, 2013; TYRESÖ, STOCKHOLM COUNTY, SWEDEN

“Cheers!” The group yelled, sloppily slamming their mugs of beer together, which made a loud clink sound. 

Christen and Kling, along with recent signees to the team Whitney Engen, Ashlyn, and Ali Krieger had gone out to celebrate afterwards. They were all sitting in the corner booth of a local pub.

“We should’ve invited to Tobs come out with us, I miss that girl!” Whitney said.

“I was going to ask her after the game if she wanted to but I was afraid she’d be a little angry since they lost. I wanted to show her around town” Christen added.

“Tobin doesn’t like losing but I’m sure she’ll be over it soon. Besides, she has her little ‘amore’ to keep her company and cheer her up” Ashlyn grinned.

 _Her little 'amore'?_ Christen racked her brain for a moment before remembering their conversation in the hotel room a few months back. “Oh yeah! Did her boyfriend travel out for the game tonight?”

All the girls at the table looked at each other then burst out laughing.

_Am I missing something? Is there some sort of inside joke I’m not apart of?_

“What?” Christen asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

“No, Tobin’s ‘boyfriend’ didn’t make the trip out— and that’s because he doesn’t exist” Ashlyn said, still laughing.

“Wait, I am so confused right now. What’s going on?” Christen demanded.

Ashlyn took a big gulp from her mug and leaned back into the booth seat “Tobin doesn’t have a boyfriend”

“Did they break up or something?”

“You’re still not getting it, are you Chris?” Ashlyn asked.

“ _Clearly_ I’m not. Can someone just tell me what is going on?” Christen was beginning to get impatient.

Ashlyn glared at everyone else in the booth with a ‘ _so who’s gonna tell her?’_ look on her face but Ali just smiled and glanced away, Kling put her hands up in protest, and Whit shook her head. Ashlyn sat back up, leaning forward, putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her fists “Christen, Tobin doesn’t date men”

All the sudden Christen felt her cheeks getting red hot with embarrassment “Oh no! I’m so stup— wow-- I’m such an idiot for making assumptions”

“It’s cause you’re an innocent little straight girl Chris, you don’t think like that” Kling chimed in, giggling a bit.

Christen slapped her arm “I’m not a baby!”

“Ow” She said, rubbing her arm “I didn’t say you were”

“Well you guys are acting like I’m clueless!” Christen shot a glare over at Whitney “Did you know about this?”

“Yeah, we played on the same team in college” Whitney said.

“And you too Meghan?”

“Christen we were all tar heels!” Kling responded.

“Ali wasn’t!” Christen glanced over at Ali, hoping she too was in the dark about this whole thing.

“You’re right, I wasn’t, but my girlfriend was and she happens to tell me everything” Ali said smiling at Ashlyn.

“I can’t believe I’m the only one who didn’t know” Christen said, feeling left out.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. There’s plenty of girls on the National Team that don’t know either” Whitney said trying to cheer Christen up.

“Maybe, but they aren’t really friends with Tobin! I just feel like a ginormous idiot for making an assumption like that” Christen whined burying her face in her hands.

“Why are you freaking out Pressi? It’s not _that_ big of a deal, relax” Kling said.

Christen lifted her head, “Because! I asked her if she was dating anyone, she told me she was and then I said ‘he must be a lucky guy!’ or something stupid like that. I can’t remember exactly what” she threw her face back into her hands.

Ashlyn let out a deep laugh and said “Oh boy! She didn’t correct you?”

“No”

“That is _so_ Tobin. She gets kinda shy about this stuff I’m not surprised she didn’t say anything” Whitney chimed in.

“She’s never directly told us she’s a lesbian but she calls every guy she’s ever known ‘dude’ and has a girlfriend now” Kling laughed.

“Tobin only really cared about playing soccer and getting average grades in college. She never dated anyone and I don’t recall her bringing people back to the dorms but there was that one party we dragged her out to—“

Whitney interrupted Ashlyn “It’s all coming back to me now! We played spin the bottle, right?” she was smiling and laughing.

“Yes! The one where we made her play spin the bottle!" Ashlyn turned to Christen, "Basically, some random girl’s spin landed on Tobin and she had to kiss her. Let’s just say Tobs got... a little flustered” Ashlyn was cracking up “But on her turn though, her spin landed on this frat guy and when they kissed it looked-- so wrong-- but she acted like it was nothing. After that we all just kind of knew”

“Okay but how did you guys find out about this girlfriend? Who is it? Do I know her?” Christen needed all the details this instant.

“I’d had my suspicions for the last few months but she didn’t _actually_ tell me about Shirley until we got coffee together this morning” Ashlyn said.

“ _Shirley_ is her name?” Christen inquired.

“Yeah, she plays for PSG though she didn’t get out on the field tonight”

“Tobin's dating one of her teammates?”

“Yes Chris, it’s not unheard of” Ashlyn said smiling and putting her arm around Ali, who was sitting next to her, then leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“Obviously, I just think it’s interesting she’s dating one of the girls on her team”

Whitney chimed in “Tobin is so focused on football, she’s never gonna actually put in the effort to go out and _find_ someone to date. She’s also so bad at reading people— you could flirt with her for months and she wouldn’t even notice. But it’s good she’s dating a teammate because at least Shirley will have some sort of chance to actually spend time with Tobin. The ball is her first love so…”

“I bet you their dates are like taking extra shots after practice or something” Kling said laughing.

“You guys are so mean! She’s passionate about the game, there’s nothing wrong with that” Christen said defending Tobin.

“Of course not-- I’m kidding. As long as she’s happy it’s all good” Kling responded.

“I still feel _so_ dumb for thinking she was with a guy” Christen said, with a troubled expression on her face.

“Chris, soccer is a super gay sport. Well… actually— all women’s sports are pretty gay” everyone at the table laughed “But, from now on if you’re gonna assume anything about your teammates, assume they’re gay until proven otherwise—“

Ashlyn was interrupted by Ali “How about we don’t assume anything about anyone”

“You’re right Al. I didn’t assume _you_ were straight and it worked out pretty well for me, didn’t it?” Ashlyn kissed Ali’s cheek as Ali just shook her head and scoffed with a smile. Then she continued “I can’t blame Tobin; it’s hard to restrain yourself when there’s so many pretty girls running around on a field with you every single day”

“She has a point” Kling nodded and laughed.

“I guess we’re outnumbered here, Christen” Whitney said, smiling at her.

“I guess you’re right Whit” She smiled back.

“Enough about Tobin— how about that pair of goals by the one and only Christen Press! You’re one bad ass bitch, girl” Ashlyn said, raising her mug for a toast.

Christen smiled sheepishly as everyone made a toast to her.

“We couldn’t of done it without you Ash! You were totally a brick wall tonight, nothing was getting past you” Christen responded.

“Except that stupid penalty kick” Ashlyn said rolling her eyes.

“PK’s are basically impossible to stop, other than that you were amazin. Plus, all your guys’ defense? Outstanding! And that beautiful assist from Meghan to help me put in the second goal. It was a real team effort out there!” Christen said with delight in her eyes.

“Let’s keep this momentum for when we see them again in Paris!” Whitney added.

Everyone raised their mugs again and drank.

“Is anyone else starving? If I don’t get some food in me soon I might just pass out” Ashlyn asked.

“I was gonna say the same thing” Ali chimed in.

While everyone was ordering, Christen pulled out her phone to text Tobin.

* * *

**[SENT MESSAGE - 9:41 PM** ] _Good game tonight-- wish I would've asked you to come out with us._ _Looking forward to seeing you next week, maybe we could grab a coffee and croissant at one of those famous Parisian cafés you told me about?_ _Let me know! -C_

* * *

She didn't get an immediate response, but when she did it felt a little cold.

* * *

**[11:03 PM - NEW MESSAGE]** _I'll let u know if I have time. À bientot -T_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter's notes I was like "🔫🔫🔫🔫 appreciate my hard work or perish 😤😤😤😤" and honestly y'all don't really have to appreciate anything-- you're just here to read some fic and I'm over here being extra and making sure everything is 100% accurate which no one even asked for lmao. 
> 
> While the background research for each chapter can be kind of tedious it's also kind of fun looking through old tweets, instagram posts, youtube highlights, and connecting the dots and stuff. Plus it will get so much easier once the 2015 world cup rolls around because then I have the Preath timeline from @preathbar on tumblr! There's so many gifs and pictures and stuffs from key Preath events in there so I won't have to do so much digging. Seriously if you can't get enough of T and C go follow that blog and if you haven't looked through the timeline you're missing out! 
> 
> The next chapter will jump an entire year forward to the CONCACAF final where the USWNT plays Costa Rica ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and will be based on a gif set from @sugarfile on tumblr where someone who's name rhymes with Tristen Dress is very very very excited to hug someone who's name rhymes with Hobin Teeth post game but Hobin Teeth looks kind of over it and instead goes to hug her little girlfriend 👀 okay that's all the spoilers you get!!
> 
> That update should be up by tomorrow or the next day! I'm trying to take time to write or at least do some research for a chapter every single day so I can get you as many chapters as possible before the month ends and I start college ಠ_ಠ
> 
> Also thank you all so much for all your supportive comments! I totally uwu whenever I see them!
> 
> *****
> 
> Hey it's me again! Just finished writing this update a few hours ago and I've been going through t and c's tweets from the month of october during the CONCACAF tournament and oh my god.... so much good content. I can tell you right now this update will be so long and so good I can't wait to write it :^) 
> 
> LET THE PINING BEGIN!


	11. CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all ever heard of a little thing called gay angst? Perhaps pining? Any ways this is the chapter where Christen finally becomes the gay disaster we've all been waiting for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRST OFF-- I just want to apologize. In the notes of the last update I said this chapter would be up like over a week ago.... whoops. At that point I had been on an updating rampage and felt like I had momentum but I also didn't realize 1. how long this update was going to be and 2. how long it takes to write and edit 10,000+ words. I'd been working on it at least a little everyday but it was a lot longer than I was expecting.  
> I've been preparing/packing to move across the country for college and shockingly that isn't easy. I've been busy, and procrastinating on this a little, (sometimes you just need to obsessively look at all things preath on tumblr every night for um... mental health reasons?) but also just plain busy.
> 
> Second, I leave for college early in the morning and thought I wasn't going to post this before I left but then I said to myself "the people have waited long enough for this god damn update so I'll give it to them" and then I sat down and got to work on finally finishing this chapter. I just finished writing this and it's 1:19 AM where I live and I have to be up at 3 AM to catch my flight ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I just figured this needed to get posted tonight before I get swept up in the busy two weeks of moving in and orientation I have. School starts Sept. 5 and I'm concerned I will hardly update once that happens but I will truly try my best to get you guys updates monthly.
> 
> Third, I was planning on just doing this chapter on Christen's angsty post-championship game moment but in doing research for this chapter there was just too much good content from the entire camp for me not to write about it. the tobin and alex roomie tweets, a stranded tobin asking cp to pick her up, cp and tobin's pre-championship game twitter interaction, etc.  
> I do not have the energy for links and sources. But here's what y'all need to know--  
> 1\. all tweets are real and I found them using advanced search for the month of october 2014  
> 2\. did kelley and cp room together? I dont know so I just made it up. but alex did get injured BUT did tobin end up rooming with cp and ko after that? probably not but I made it up just for a fun thing for the plot  
> 3\. any plot point about the days they arrived places or did an activity is real and I used old instagram posts and tweets for that   
> 4\. do yourself a favor: go to tumblr, search "shirley cruz tobin heath" and one of the first things that should pop up is a video where cp and tobin hug post game and my god it is something to behold. first off, cp and th hug, but tobin looks so over it and christen looks so UwU and then she literally unravels before us as tobin walks over to hug her boo-- that's gay angst if i've ever seen it. then other girls around christen see th and shirley and point it out and its all so great. at the end you get a half second of shirley and tobin hugging its amazing. the whole thing is spectacular pls watch  
> 5\. if you search what i told you to on tumblr you'll also see the gifs of shirley going to hang with the us gals after the trophy presentation and you just might see tobin and shirley posing together after they've switched jerseys. good stuff would reccomend  
> 6\. i did the best i could to translate the events of that iconic video into this fic but I'm not a lip reader or anything so i dont know exactly what the girls said i just did my best to read the timing and situation  
> 7\. yes i found the weather report for kansas city, ks on october 8,2014 and YES it was raining hard that day   
> 8\. all locations and such are accurate and based on instagram posts about getting coffee and the activities the gals did while in kc i basically pinpointed where their hotel was and the shopping center is right there also
> 
> Since the last update i've had a rollercoaster of emotions about writing this fic. I went from being so excited about it to never wanting to write again and then back to excited. I had a crisis about the title "A Story of Time" and suddenly hated it and then thought i was never going to update again. it all sounds so dramatic (it is) but i realized why i started this: i'm on a mission here to be the first fic starting from as early as it did and moving through the timeline. so hopefully, i keep the motivation the keep updating. we'll see. i'm tired.
> 
> I hope that this near 12,000 word update that is basically the size of all the other chapters combined makes up for the fact that it took me a week longer to write and release this than i said it would.
> 
> editing this at 1 am with no sleep means there may be some spelling or grammar errors so if you catch any i'm sorry! i'm delirious rn lmaooo
> 
> pls enjoy and as always leave feedback in the comments!

This was the moment the team had been waiting for since the World Cup finals loss just over three years ago: qualifying time. The next twenty or so days would be spent training and traveling for games. The goal was to win and qualify for the 2015 World Cup in Canada to seek redemption.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014; KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

“Sick!” Tobin exclaimed after seeing the roommate assignment list.

She would be with Alex for the time they were in Kansas City and probably through the entire tournament.

She pulled out her phone to tweet:

* * *

**Tobin Heath**

@TobinHeath

Back in camp with the WNT and waiting for my roomie. Where you at @alexmorgan13 ?? #totallytakingthegoodbed #KansasCity

4:04 PM · Oct 5, 2014

* * *

Most of the team had gotten there already but a few had yet to arrive.

Tobin couldn’t wait to spend the entire month with her favorite people in the world: her teammates. Training, games, and travel in times like this is what she loved the most.

—

A few hours later Tobin was sitting on her bed in their room watching TV when she got a notification:

**[TWITTER - 1 NEW MENTION]**

So she opened it up.

* * *

**Alex Morgan**

@alexmorgan13

_replying to @TobinHeath_

@TobinHeath rooooooomie. Thanks for saving me the good bed! #windowbedsthebest

8:07 PM · Oct 5, 2014

* * *

_It’ll be a fun month._

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014; KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

Christen had gotten a room with Kelley. She was happy to be with her Stanford pal just like old times.

It was after four o’clock or so and all training was done for the day. Dinner was to be around six but until then the girls could do as they pleased. Kelley was out of the room and Christen actually hadn’t seen her since everyone got into the SUV’s after training. She’d gone with Alex in one of them somewhere, so Christen was taking advantage of the quiet time in the room to do some reading.

She had the past week’s copy of _The New Yorker_ in hand and was sitting in the arm chair by the window of the room. When she first sat down an hour ago, it had been cloudy. Slowly over the last sixty minutes the clouds had gotten darker and it began to sprinkle but now it was pouring down heavily. Christen enjoyed the pitter-patter of the rain as background noise while she read through articles, poems, and cartoons.

The silence in the room was broken by the sound of Christen’s phone ringing on the little table next to her.

**[INCOMING CALL]**

She picked it up and put it to her ear.

_“Tobin?”_

_“Hey Chris! Have you been on Twitter recently?”_

_“Um— no I haven’t. Why?”_

_Oh no reason… are you in your room right now?_

_“Yeah”_

_“Am I interrupting you? Are you doing something?”_

_“Not really”_

_“Okay so can I ask a super gigantic favor? I’ll owe you big time.”_

_“Sure, anything you need. What is it?”_

_“So at like three I walked to a coffee shop near the hotel for an afternoon boost and when I was walking back, the rain started coming down like crazy! Now I’m stranded. Alex and Kelley are out shopping somewhere and Arod and Cheney aren’t picking up. I didn’t want to bother you but I didn’t know who else to call. Is there any way you could hop in one of the SUV’s and come get me?”_

_“Of course! Where are you now?”_

_“I took refuge in some jean store in the Country Club Plaza down on Broadway. Lucky’s or something like that maybe”_

_“Okay, stay where you are— I’m leaving right now”_

_Thank you so much! Seriously Chris, you’re the best!_

Christen put her magazine down, grabbed one of her U.S. Soccer windbreakers, headed to the front desk where Jill said the keys were if they wanted to use the team cars, and got them from the man working there.

She stood under the ramada just outside the lobby and clicked the ‘unlock’ button on the beeper to see which car it belonged to. When she saw the headlights of one about 50 yards away flash, she ran over to it and climbed inside as quickly as possible, trying not to get too wet.

Christen had seen the Country Club Plaza, which was a big shopping complex, on the drive in to the hotel from the airport so she knew exactly where to go.

She drove the car up Broadway and scanned both sides of the street to find the store Tobin was hiding in. She spotted the blue “LUCKY BRAND” sign through the pouring rain on the left side of the street and pulled over. She didn’t see Tobin outside the store and decided she would go in.

Christen put her hood over her head, took a deep breath, and waited for the traffic on both sides to clear. She then opened the SUV door and sprinted as fast as she could through the pouring rain plus ankle deep puddle that was now forming on the road, across the street, and into the store.

Once inside, Christen searched for Tobin. She was near the entrance and when their eyes met Tobin’s lit up.They waved at each other, then Tobin made her way over to Christen.

Tobin hugged her, which she didn’t mind since they were both a little wet.

“You truly are my savior, Chris” Tobin said as they pulled away from the hug.

Christen smiled, taking Tobin’s hand and said “Alright, let’s get you out of here”

They walked out the entrance of the store and paused right outside the door before making a run for the SUV which was parked on the other side of the street.

There was something so magical about running through heavy sheets of rain, hand-in-hand, laughing loudly as your shoes splash through the flooded street. It was joyous and exhilarating. Though every inch of her body was getting soaked, Christen didn’t want this euphoric moment to end.

They reached the car, let go of hands, and Christen shouted “It’s unlocked!”. They opened their doors and rushed to get inside.

Once the doors were shut and they were seated, the loud noise of the rain was muffled. Only the sound of their heavy breathing filled the car.

Christen turned her head and caught a glimpse of Tobin right then. She was completely drenched, her wet hair was slightly wild and the loose strands were sticking to her cheeks, her chest was heaving, water droplets were slowly moving down her face. Even in the gloomy and dark lighting of an evening storm, Tobin’s golden skin seemed to glow. She had a slight grin that caused the little smile lines around her mouth to form.

Suddenly Christen felt her heart racing and her mouth go dry.

Tobin looked up to meet Christen’s gaze as she used her right hand to tuck some of those loose hairs behind her ears “What is it? Do I have something on my face?” She smiled.

“Oh— uh— no you don’t”

Now Christen felt panicked and looked away from the girl next to her to peer down at the steering wheel. _Why was I staring like that? What is wrong with you Christen?_

“You’re the best, really. Thank you so much for doing this” Tobin broke the momentary silence.

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, it was nothing. Just two blocks of driving and a little running in the rain— that’s all”

“I could’ve walked back since I got soaked any ways but…”

Christen kept her eyes on the steering wheel “No truly, I’m glad to have helped”

“Tomorrow’s coffee is on me. Maybe a scone or croissant too”

She finally looked up to meet Tobin’s eyes, which made her heart flutter slightly as she protested and laughed, “Dawn would _kill_ me”

“She doesn’t _have_ to know”

Christen was doing it again— she was staring at Tobin. It wasn’t the regular eye contact you make with someone while you talk to them. No— she found herself distracted by the form in front of her. She was studying every angle and corner of Tobin’s face, her soft brown eyes, her chapped lips, and her cut cheek bones.

_Get it together Christen! What are you doing?!_

Christen struggled to find words for a moment but then responded “Perhaps I’ll be in the mood for a blueberry scone in the morning”

Tobin smiled.

Christen then realized they had just been sitting in the SUV for minutes now and she had yet to even start it.

She quickly moved to turn the ignition and shifted into drive, then they were on their way back to the hotel.

Christen parked the SUV in a spot near the lobby entrance so they wouldn’t have to run though the rain again, which was still falling with great force.

They entered the hotel sopping wet, water drops dripping onto the floor behind them as they walked. Tobin and Christen got into the elevator and took it up. Once they reached their floor they stepped out. Before parting ways, Tobin said “I’ll see you at dinner, dry hopefully”

“Actually I was planning in staying in these clothes. I think I may try this new ‘just went swimming fully clothed’ look. What do you think?” Christen was trying to be funny and play it cool.

“That’s _so_ avant-garde. You’re a trendsetter, Press!”

They both laughed, then Tobin said “Bye, Christen”

The way she used her full name like that, it made Christen’s heart race a little again.

“Bye, Tobin”

And with that, they turned in opposite directions to walk back to their own rooms.

Christen’s eyes went wide and her cheeks got hot as she stared at the floor while speed walking back to her door.

Christen quickly slid her key into the slot and turned the handle, opening the door and slamming it hard behind her. As soon as it shut she backed into it and slid down until her bottom hit the floor. She let her head fall back, and it struck the door with a _thud_.

_What was that? Why couldn’t I stop staring— or talk like a normal human being? Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God I probably looked like such an idiot! Just oogling at her like some weirdo. What was that?!_

Christen’s mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour. She then willed herself to get up and walk over to her bed. She flopped back onto it and lay there still, just staring at the ceiling.

She still couldn’t understand what had just happened.

For some reason, in that moment, Tobin made her mind go blank and heart flutter. Even though they’d interacted thousands of times at this point, there had never been one quite like that. They’d sat closer together at times before and Christen had seen Tobin practice and play in the rain before so what made _this_ so different?

The sight of a drenched and slightly disheveled Tobin had done something to Christen. What had it ‘done’ to her exactly? She didn’t know. She couldn’t put it into words.

The image of Tobin sitting next to her in the SUV played over and over again in Christen’s mind. _Why had she looked so— alluring? Or enticing? Captivating? Cunning or maybe even… perfect? No, she was far from perfect— her dry, rough lips and messy hair were the opposite of perfect. But these imperfections are what comprise her. Tobin’s whole deal is that she never uses chapstick or a brush; and she wouldn’t be herself if she did do these things. This laid back and candid look was just so Tobin and so… perfect. In that moment, she was perfect—_

Suddenly the door to the room opened and Kelley entered with a few shopping bags. Christen didn’t have time to react before Kelley said “Hey Chris— whatcha’ doing?” Kelley wore a curious and confused look on her face.

“Oh just— um— studying the ceiling” She said, sitting up.

“Wet?”

“Yeah” Christen chuckled at how ridiculous she probably looked.

“Okay, weirdo. I’m not gonna ask any questions but I will tell you dinner’s in a few so you might want to change or something”

“What?” Christen sat up and looked one at the alarm clock on the nightstand, which read **[5:48]**

_How long have I been laying here?_

“I just came to drop my stuff off but I’m heading down there now. See ya!”

“See ya” Christen responded with a half smile.

Kelley put her bags down and exited the room. As soon as the door shut Christen threw herself back onto the bed.

_You better get it together before dinner time._

Christen got up and went to her bag to grab a change of dry clothes. After she got into them, she took a towel from the bathroom and ruffled her hair with it, trying to get it as dry as possible in the little time she had. When she decided it was good enough, she picked up her phone and a room key and checked the alarm clock one last time to make sure she wasn’t late. **[5:57]** She’d be right on time.

While she rode the elevator down, Christen remembered Tobin asking her if she’d gone on Twitter recently. _What an odd question that was._ She hadn’t been on Twitter that day but also hadn’t checked her phone either. She clicked it on and saw a notification on the lock screen.

**[TWITTER - 1 MENTION]**

Christen unlocked her phone to see what it was.

* * *

**Tobin Heath**

@TobinHeath

Somebody come get me with a car…I’m stranded 2 blocks from the hotel haha @ChristenPress

4:04 PM · Oct 8, 2014

* * *

A big smile drew across Christen’s face as she read this, and blushed a little.

_Oh Tobin._

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2014; KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

Today was a recovery day for the team. They relaxed for the most part and a few had planned to go out that night. Their hotel was right on Brush Creek, a river way in the center of the Kansas City. They just happened to be in the city at the right time because every October something called “WaterFire KC” was held for a day on Brush Creek. There were mini bon-fires that would float up on the creek the whole night along with live musical performances.

Kelley and Christen went down to see it and sat along the bank, enjoying the performances and evening.

Tobin decided not to go out and opted to spend the night in her room playing board games with Alex. She had gone down to the hotel lobby to get some water at around eleven o’clock when she saw Kelley and Christen walk in.

“Hey guys!” Tobin greeted.

“Hey Tobs!” Kelley said back.

Christen stayed silent and just smiled at Tobin, avoiding eye contact.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah it was a great time! What are you doing down here?” Kelley asked.

“Oh I was just a little thirsty” Tobin said, holding up the bottle of water she had gotten. “You guys wanna come back up to me and Alex’s room to hang for a little?”

“I’m in” Kelley said enthusiastically.

“What about you, Chris?” Tobin inquired.

Christen had been avoiding Tobin’s eyes the whole time, which was strange to her.

Without looking up, Christen responded “I’m a little tired— I think I’m gonna go to bed”

“Suit yourself” Kelley said throwing her arm around Tobin’s shoulder. “See ya later, Press!”

“See you guys later” Christen said, sort of quietly.

_That was weird._

They took the elevator up then walked off in separate directions, Christen to her room and Kelley with Tobin to hers.

“What was up with Christen?” Tobin asked Kelley.

“I don’t know she was fine like five minutes ago. Just tired probably”

“Yeah, probably”

“So what am I gonna destroy you two in tonight? Monopoly? Uno?” Kelley joked.

“Actually, I was thinking of something intellectual like Scrabble”

“Tobin— you think you can beat a Stanford grad in scrabble?”

“I like challenges” She smiled.

“Bring it”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014; BRIDGEVIEW, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

Ever since that rainy day, the sight of Tobin had given her angst. Christen wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle herself around Tobin.

As discretely as she could, Christen had tried to avoid her at all costs. It wasn’t so hard. She just had to sit with Kling and Whitney at meals and try not to talk to Tobin more than was necessary during training and in the locker room. She would sit as far as possible, without looking weird of course, away from Tobin and Alex on the bus. In the locker room, Christen wouldn’t dare look over in the direction of Tobin’s locker— she couldn’t risk possibly seeing her not fully clothed. On Saturday, Tobin had invited Christen to hangout in her room with Alex and Kelley but she rightfully declined. She wouldn’t have been able to contain herself. If Tobin had noticed this behavior, she hadn’t said anything.

Christen hated doing it, but it was necessary. At this point she was still not one hundred percent sure what had happened to her in the car. However she did know this familiar feeling, but it was one she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Christen had dated some boys in high school and college but didn’t have much time for it with club and college soccer. Once she got to Sweden, she _really_ didn’t have time. Plus, she didn’t speak Swedish which just made things harder.

The feeling Tobin gave Christen in the pit of her stomach was reminiscent of the way guys had made her feel in the past. She’d never had feelings for a girl before, though— not even the tiniest crush. In all her years of club, college, and pro soccer not one of her teammates had ever given her butterflies in her stomach that way.

Over the past few days, Christen had been trying to justify the way she felt towards Tobin. _You’re just lonely. It’s been a while since you’ve been with a man. Tobin has a pretty masculine figure and definitely gives off masculine energy. You’re just confused. Plenty of people feel emotional connections to their teammates. You don’t actually like her you’re just being your usual awkward self._

But _this_ isn’t a crush— or at least that’s what Christen kept assuring herself. She had just felt something in that moment, but it wasn’t anything real, she was sure of it. She just had to keep avoiding Tobin to stay sane and soon she’d forget she had ever even felt this way. It’d be laughable by next week.

The second part of the plan hadn’t been working though. The feelings hadn’t subsided. It had been a week and a half and Tobin still made Christen’s heart race just like she did on that rainy day, in that SUV.

Yesterday in the opening match of CONCACAF qualifying, they had beat Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, which was definitely not their most convincing performance. Since she was disappointed in how the game went, Tobin had been pretty quiet afterwards and wasn’t her usual chatty self. Christen knew she’d at least be safe for that night.

But now they were on a bus to Chicago to play their next game which would be tomorrow. Alex and Tobin took their usual seat in the front so Christen took a row just past the middle of the bus, not suspiciously too far away. She tried looking out the window or reading her book or distracting herself with her phone. None of this worked though.

Over and over again Christen found her eyes at the front of the bus, staring at Tobin’s light brown hair and pony tail. Once in a while Tobin would turn to Alex to show her something on her phone or say something to her; giving Christen a glimpse of the side of her face just for a few seconds— her sharp jawline, her strong cheekbones, her brown eyes that turned to honey in this afternoon sunlight. Christen savored the moment as much as possible, taking in the sight for as long as she could before Tobin turned to face the front of the bus again. If she got lucky, Tobin might smile or even laugh—the sight of that making Christen’s heart flutter.

_Why are you so obsessed?_

This is the question Christen kept asking herself, but she couldn’t answer it. There were only about ten days left of qualifying— and they were going to be the longest ten days of Christen’s life. She had no idea what she’d be in for, especially after the events of tomorrow’s game.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014; TOYOTA PARK; BRIDGEVIEW, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

The game against Guatemala had been going well. Tobin scored the first goal in the seventh minute. Since then, they’d been getting good shots at goal but couldn’t finish. Still, it looked a lot better than the last game. Things were looking up, until the thirty-seventh minute.

After a goal kick by Guatemala’s keeper had been intercepted by Alex, she began a run back towards the goal. Tobin was running wide left behind her, and it looked like Alex was going to convert this opportunity into another point on the board for the U.S. Then, Alex suddenly fell. Tobin couldn’t see what actually happened but it appeared she may have been fouled. In anger, Tobin threw her hands up at the ref.

It wasn’t just any fall though. Alex had stayed on the ground, and with the medical team now on the field, it looked bad. _This can’t be good._ She had to be put on a stretcher and carried off the pitch which was frightening. Tobin left the huddle to go say goodbye to Alex right before she was taken off. In the midst of qualifying for the next World Cup, they needed Alex badly. Besides the obvious loss for the team, she was also Tobin’s best friend. No one wants to see their best friend get hurt like that.

Tobin tried to shake it off the best she could. Christen came on as the sub for Alex and play resumed. In the forty-fifth minute, Tobin sent the ball up the sideline to a zooming Meghan Klingenberg who then launched it over the box to Christen who headed it in near the right post. For a second she got excited, but then the ref determined Christen had pushed the nearest defender in order to free herself for the goal. It was called off.

In the second half things got better. Right from the jump, in the forty-sixth minute, Carli Lloyd scored a header. Now up 2-0, a win felt more certain. Then at minute fifty-seven, Tobin back heeled a pass from Sydney Leroux that went right into the goal. Now she had a brace for the game and they were up 3-0! It was going to get even better though.

Just a minute later, off a free kick by Megan Rapinoe, Whitney Engen headed in _another_ goal. What made the moment so special was that as a center back, she was hardly ever in opportunities to score. Whitney held her arms out and ran to center field, while Tobin chased, to go in for a group hug.

Pinoe would get the last goal for night and the final score was 5-0. This win felt a lot more convincing than the last. The joy Tobin felt from her team scoring four goals in the second half almost made her forget about Alex— _almost_.

Alex was waiting outside the locker room after everyone had changed post game, with a pair of crutches and a boot. Tobin approached her and gave her a light hug, trying not to throw her off balance.

“Good job out there tonight Tobs! You were amazing” Alex said warmly.

“Thanks, Al. Is it really that bad?” Tobin asked with a sad tone and expression.

“Yeah it is”

“What happened? Were you pushed?”

“No, our feet got caught together and my ankle twisted all the way inwards”

“What’s the verdict?”

“I have to get an MRI tonight but the medical staff said I’m out for at least the rest of the tournament”

“Alex… we _need_ you”

“Tobin it’s okay, we have a deep roster. Syd, Abby, ARod, and Press are all great forwards. Don’t worry about me, you need to focus on the rest of the tournament and qualifying for Canada”

“You’re my best friend, of course I’m gonna worry about you”

“There’s no point. I have to get going to my MRI and I’ll text you the results as soon as they come in. I’m also flying home to LA tonight to start my recovery”

“So I’m not gonna see you for a while?”

“Probably not”

“I’m gonna miss you so much, Alex”

“I’m going to miss you too but I have to go now”

Alex leaned in for a goodbye hug and they held each other for a moment.

“Please remember to text me” Tobin said into Alex’s shoulder.

“I won’t forget”

They separated and gave each other a soft smile before Alex hobbled away on her crutches and into a black car that was going to take her to the emergency room. She gave Tobin one last wave before climbing in.

Tobin sighed and turned around to walk to the bus. She got on and sat in her and Alex’s usual row, by herself. Then Kelley got on and plopped down right by Tobin, to her surprise.

“Hey, I know you’re super bummed about Alex so I thought I’d be your interim bus buddy. Is it okay if I sit with you?”

“Of course, Kel”

“Good, cause I wasn’t going to move”

They both laughed.

“Can you believe that happened to Alex?” Tobin asked.

“No, it’s so crazy. I saw you two talking a little while ago, what did she say?”

“She said she’ll be out for the rest of the tournament at the least. She’s going to get an MRI right now and said she’ll text me when they determine everything. She’s also flying back to LA tonight”

“Oh man— I’ll miss her a lot. We were supposed to have a lot of fun this month”

“I know”

Once they arrived back at the hotel, Tobin went back to her room and crashed onto the bed. Only an hour without Alex and it already felt lonely, especially since all her stuff had been taken out of the room. Tobin kept looking over at the empty window bed and wishing her best friend was sitting there.

She got up and began to pack her things since they were getting on a flight to Washington D.C early the next morning. When Tobin had finished, she felt truly exhausted and decided she’d call it a night. She turned off the lights and laid back in bed. Her phone was laying on the nightstand and it buzzed as she was closing her eyes.

Tobin picked it up to see what it was.

**[12:13 AM - NEW MESSAGE]** _Roooooomie!!! MRI says just a sprain & down time 4-6 weeks! The comeback will be strong _💪 _I will be ur cheerleader from my couch_

Tobin smiled at Alex’s optimism and responded.

**[REPLY - 12:14 AM]** _Roooomie!! Gonna be the longest4-6 wks of my life :,-(((( rest up… feels lonely without u as my bus bud_

**[12:15 AM - NEW MESSAGE]** _I’m w/u in spirit & u have Kelkey 2 fill my spot :)_

**[REPLY - 12:16 AM]** _U r right Al gn_

**[12:17 AM - NEW MESSAGE]** _Gn Toby_

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014; WASHINGTON D.C, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

The team was on a flight to Washington D.C for their next match against Haiti. Christen and Kelley had sat next to each other and Tobin had sat by herself, again, but a few rows behind. Christen liked this better because Tobin wasn’t in her line of sight. She’d have to turn around to catch a glimpse of Tobin if she wanted one but, that’d look weird so of course Christen wouldn’t do it. This seating arrangement helped her fall fast asleep fairly quickly as soon as the plane had taken off.

Christen awoke to someone gently shaking her shoulder and whispering lowly “Press… Press”

She opened her eyes to see Kelley was the one trying to wake her up.

“Kel— what is it? Did we land in D.C yet?” Christen said in her raspy ‘just woke up’ voice.

“No, we land soon though. But listen, I talked to Jill about room assignments and—“

“You don’t want to stay with me anymore?!”

“No Christen, _listen_. Now that Alex is gone, we have an uneven number of players. Tobin has been really down since yesterday and I don’t want her staying in a room by herself, she’ll just get super lonely and more sad. But I know as soon as we start joking around and stuff with her she’ll forget all about Alex’s ankle and just return to her normal self. So I talked to Jill and they’re gonna have Tobin room with us!”

Panic set in for Christen and she knew why.

“ _Woah Woah Woah_ — Kelley you just threw a lot of information at me and I’ve only just woken up” It wasn’t like Christen didn’t understand what Kelley had said, she was just stalling and again, she knew _exactly_ why.

“What are you not getting about all this? I’ll make it simple for you: since Alex is out, we have nineteen players, which is an odd number, which would mean that Tobin _would_ be rooming by herself”

“Okay, yes”

“But I don’t want her to be alone in a room. She’ll get all sad and bored without a friend in there. So I talked to Jill and we’re gonna take her in with us!”

“Who’s bed is she going to stay in, Kelley?” _God— I hope not mine._

“I don’t know we’ll flip a coin for it or something. Let’s figure it out when we get there”

“Don’t you think Tobin would like to have her own space?”

“Dude— Tobin has been couch surfing around since she graduated college, she’s used to not having her own space”

“Alright I guess—“

“Do you not want her to stay with us, Christen?”

“No— no— I’m just— I don’t want her to feel cramped that’s all” _No Kelley, I don’t want her to stay with us. I can’t act normal within fifty feet of her and now we could possibly be sharing the same bed! I’m going to be a disaster and this whole thing is a disaster waiting to happen._

“Tobin isn’t much of a complainer, Chris. She’ll be fine. Plus she’s better off with some super cool roommates, A.K.A _us_ , to cheer her up so she won’t be bummed the rest of the trip. Whenever Tobin’s down about something, she brings everyone down with her”

“Well, I’m glad we could help” Christen said with a half smile.

“That’s the spirit!” Kelley exclaimed patting Christen’s shoulder, “I’m gonna go back there and give her the good news right now!”

Christen just gave Kelley a nod as she got up and walked down the aisle to Tobin’s row.

Christen closed her eyes for a moment. _Why is this happening to me right now? Could this get any worse?_

__

_—_

The plane landed and the team grabbed all their belongings and exited. Kelley had stayed to sit with Tobin for the rest of the flight so Christen tagged along with Meghan and Whitney to walk through the airport to their bus with. On the bus, Christen sat with Whitney in the row behind Meghan and Morgan Brian and the four of them shared a lot of laughs on the way to the hotel, which was good for Christen considering she had forgotten a _certain someone_ existed during that twenty minute ride. She still hadn’t thought about Tobin as everyone grabbed their suitcases from the bottom of the bus and walked into the lobby. It wasn’t until Kelley came up to her with the room assignment that the nervousness came back.

“Chris we’re in room 341”

“Sounds good, let’s head on up— I’m so tired of carrying this giant suitcase”

“Okay, hold on” Kelley said as her eyes searched for someone behind Christen.

“What is it?” Christen asked turning around. She then spotted the girl she’d been trying to forget. _Oh… yeah— that’s happeing._

Tobin was walking up to the pair with a smile on her face, “Hey roomies! Where we headin’?”

“To room 341!” Kelley responded enthusiastically, waving them along.

The trio walked to the elevator and once they had settled into it, Christen reached for the button with a “3” on it. Just as she did that, so did Tobin. Their hands brushed each other and they both pulled back.

“Oops!” Tobin said with a chuckle, “Great minds _do_ think a like” she then winked at Christen.

_Oh my God oh my God oh my God_ _oh my God_ _oh my God_ The wink sent Christen spiraling into internal panic. All she could do was stand there quietly with an awkward attempt at a smile.

Tobin clearly didn’t think much of it and proceeded to hit the button herself.

Christen just turned slightly so she was facing the elevator door, and she kept staring straight ahead at it and holding her breath as the car climbed upwards. It felt like it took hours even though it was less than fifteen-seconds. When she heard the ‘ding!’ sound, indicating the they had reached the third floor, Christen felt a sense of relief. They stepped out of the elevator and she finally began to breath again.

They found their room down the hallway and went in. There were two queen sized beds, one by the door and one by the window, and Tobin immediately dropped her stuff off on the one by the door. Everyone on the team knew that she considered the ‘best bed’ to be whichever was farthest from the window.

“So who am I sharing with?” Tobin asked.

_Please not me._ Christen started internally panicking again.

Kelley and Christen both looked at each other and then Kelley said “Let’s flip a coin—”

Christen interruptedher “No it’s fine, Tobin should get the bed all to herself. We can just share Kelley— she is _our_ guest after all” she was stalling and flailing and panicking and just trying to do anything she could to prevent sharing a bed with Tobin.

“Chris, I’m intruding upon your guys’ space. One of you deserves to get the bed”

“Like I said: let’s flip a coin!” Kelley said.

“Here” Tobin reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter, tossing it to Kelley.

“Heads or tails, Press?” Kelley asked.

“Um— heads” Christen remembered a professor once telling her that the chance a coin will land on heads is just slightly higher than tails. It was probably such a small difference in probability and wouldn’t really affect the outcome, but she was desperate at this point and was willing to do whatever it took to keep space from Tobin.

Kelley nodded then flipped the coin with her thumb, and it landed on the floor— rolling in a circle before falling flat. Christen bent down to see what side was facing up. Her breathing hitched when she caught glimpse of the ‘UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’ text bent over an eagle.

“So how did it land?” Kelley asked.

_Why me? Why is this happening to me?!_

“Tails up” Christen said quietly.

“Yes!” Kelley exclaimed.

Christen stood back up and Tobin looked at her and said, “Looks like we’re bed buddies!”

“Yup” Christen said in response.

“Cool. I hope you don’t mind insanely loud snoring”

“Wait what?” Christen asked in confusion.

Tobin giggled at the expression on her face before saying, “Just kidding. You won’t hear a peep out of me all night long. I hope you can say the same?”

Christen nodded slightly “Yeah I’m famously a silent sleeper”

“Alright good” She flashed Christen a smile before starting to unpack her things.

_This is going to be a very long ten days._

_—_

The team had a light afternoon training to get their legs loose after sitting in a plane for a few hours then ate a late dinner. Everyone went back up to their rooms around nine o’clock to go to sleep.

Christen went first in the bathroom to change and brush her teeth, then Tobin went after her. By the time Tobin was leaving the bathroom and Kelley was entering, Christen had already tucked herself into bed and was reading a book. Tobin climbed into bed next to her and turned on her right side so she was facing away. She snuggled her head into the pillow and then was still. Christen felt her heart racing. _It’s gonna be like this for the next ten days… you better get it together! Chill!_

Christen could now feel the heat of Tobin’s body, just mere inches from her. She was staring at the bright white page of the book and all the words on it, but not actually reading any of them. She couldn’t focus— not with Tobin this close to her. Her racing thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice next to her.

“Hey Press?” Tobin was still on her side and facing away from Christen.

Christen raised her eyes up from the book but kept staring straight ahead at the wall, “Um— yes?”  
“How much longer are you gonna be reading?”

“I’m not sure”

“It’s cool, take your time. The light is just keeping me up— that’s all”

“Oh I’m sorry I’ll uh— I’ll turn it off. I should be going to bed any ways”

Tobin turned over to face her and their eyes locked “Are you sure?”

The eye contact made Christen’s heart beat faster than it already was going, “Yeah it’s fine I don’t mind”

“Sorry if I interrupted you” Tobin said with sympathetic eyes.

“You didn’t” _I haven’t even been able to focus on the words for the last five minutes any ways._

Tobin watched as Christen folded her book up, put it on the nightstand then flicked the switch on the lamp. Darkness fell on the room, except for the thin beam of light coming out from under the bathroom door. Christen had forgotten that Kelley was in there.

She settled down into the covers and heard Tobin do the same— this time she was flat on her back.

“Sleep tight, Chisten”

_Oh my God she’s using my full name again— I can’t catch a break can I?_

“Sleep tight, Tobin”

Christen didn’t close her eyes though, she lay there staring into the blackness above her. Then suddenly the bathroom door flung open and the light from it illuminated the dark room.

“Way to leave the light on for me, geniuses!” Kelley said, sarcastically.

Without budging and with her eyes still closed, Tobin responded “Sorry Kel, but you were taking forever and I need my beauty sleep”

“Well if I want to keep my skin clear and soft like the Georgia peach I am, I have to do my rigorous skincare routine nightly”

“Whatever, Peachy— just turn off the bathroom light already” Tobin still had her eyes shut.

Kelley scoffed and turned off the light, then walked over to the window bed to get into it.

Tobin turned back on her side away from Christen again. She felt momentary relief since Tobin was slightly farther away from her.

Christen continued to lay there, eyes wide open and unable to sleep. Her heart was racing and her brain was firing on all cylinders.

_She’s literally… right next to me— like inches away from me. Just relax Christen— breathe— try to calm yourself to sleep._

Eventually her racing thoughts had exhausted her mind enough to fall into sleep.

—

When Christen felt herself drifting out of sleep the next morning and opened her eyes, the sight she saw caused her breathing to hitch. In the night, Tobin had flipped over on to her left side and Christen had turned onto her right side. They were now facing each other and their faces were close together— like _really_ close together. Their foreheads were only inches apart; Christen could hear Tobin’s soft breathing and feel its warmth against her cheek.

Tobin looked so calm, so still. Her hands were together, pressed between the pillow and left side of her face. Her breaths were slow and gentle— she looked so peaceful.

Christen lay still for a minute, while panicking internally.

_What do I do? Do I go back to sleep? No, I can’t go back to sleep now— I’m wide awake. Do I get up? Do I leave the room? Is it time to get breakfast yet? Wait— what time is it?_

Christen twisted her neck to peep at the alarm clock on the nightstand, **[7:36]**

They didn’t have to be down for breakfast until nine and Christen didn’t know what to do until then. She usually meditated every morning but wasn’t quite sure she’d be able to let her mind go blank for a whole twenty minutes in Tobin’s presence. She lay there for a moment more before getting out of the bed as carefully as possible, trying not to disturb the girl sleeping next to her.

She caught a glimpse of Kelley on the other bed; fast asleep with her limbs sprawled out in all directions. The sight of this made Christen smile and chuckle quietly to herself.

_Oh, Kelley— always so gracious._

She quickly checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror, just making sure she was decent enough to go down to the lobby. She then grabbed her yoga mat from her suitcase and her phone from the nightstand then headed out. Christen was determined to find somewhere to get her morning meditation in.

On her way to the lobby, Christen passed the pool and noticed that it was empty. No one was going for a swim at eight in the morning in the fall weather. _Perfect._

As soon as Christen walked outside, she regretted not grabbing a hoodie or something of the sort— the air felt crisp and cool. _It’s too late to go back up there now, just suck it up._

She set her mat out on the deck in direct sunlight so she’d feel its warmth. Christen sat down, set a twenty-minute timer on her phone, and settled in to her meditation. Being in the sun helped her feel more comfortable and soon she was able to let her mind clear.

At the sound of the timer Christen’s eyes shot open and she felt herself thrust back into reality. She was warmer now that she’d been in the sun for some time and her whole body felt reset. Christen was ready to take on the day.

She went back up to her room and found Kelley and Tobin still asleep. There was thirty minutes until everyone had to be down for breakfast so she thought she’d wake them up. Of course Christen was going to get Kelley up first, hoping she’d then get Tobin up.

Christen gently shook Kelley’s shoulder and said quietly “Kelley… Kelley”

Kelley squirmed a little bit before whispering “Shhhhhh… five more minutes” still half asleep.  
“No you should get up now”

Kelley opened her eyes up slightly and said “You’re such a mom, Press”

Christen laughed a little and asked, “Why? Because I’m the responsible one?”

Kelley opened her eyes all the way and nodded with a grin on her face.

“Well _somebody_ has to take responsibility around here. Can you get Tobin up while I do my hair in the bathroom? We have to report to breakfast soon”

“Ugh I have to do _everything_ around here” she said in a tone.

Christen shot Kelley a scathing glare and then Kelley responded by putting her hands up and saying, “Kidding!”

“That’s what I thought” Christen said, entering the bathroom.

She washed her face and fixed her hair so it was parted nicely into a low pony tail and then exited. When she left the bathroom she saw Tobin sitting on the side of the bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and Kelley throwing on a sweatshirt.

“Ready guys?” Christen asked.

“I am” Kelley said, now definitely awake.

“Give me a sec” Tobin said in a raspy voice. _Okay she’s definitely not awake._

“Tobs is _not_ a morning person” Kelley said sarcastically.

“No I’m not” Tobin responded, getting up to grab her glasses off the dresser and slip on her shoes “But for some reason, everyone thinks its okay to start the day this early so I have to conform”

“Tobin it’s almost nine” Kelley said.

“Yeah, well I’m not a functioning human being ’til at least twelve”

“Whatever, let’s go to breakfast I’m starving over here!”

They all headed down to the lobby.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2014; WASHINGTON D.C, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

The team had a solid game against Haiti yesterday with a 6-0 final result. Today was a recovery day and they could do as they please before they had to board the bus to Pennsylvania at two-thirty. Tobin had slept in and woke up to the bed empty beside her. She sat up and saw Kelley was still sleeping.

Looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand near Christen’s side of the bed, it said **[10:46]** _It’s kinda late, maybe I should get up? Ugh I need coffee._

Tobin hated hotel coffee, she thought it tasted terrible. She preferred to always find a cute little cafe in every city they stayed in. Tobin didn’t want to go alone so she got Kelley up.

Tobin’s approach to waking her up was definitely less delicate than Christen’s. She just threw a pillow at Kelley’s head and hoped it hit her hard enough to wake her.

Sure enough, it did.

“What the hell dude!” Kelley exclaimed, chucking the pillow back at Tobin.

“Get up it’s almost eleven. Let’s go get some coffee”

“You didn’t have to be so rude”

“How else was I supposed to wake you without actually getting up?”

“You’re lazy”

“So are you. C’mon let’s go get coffee, I really need the energy right now”

“Fine. But I’m not going with you because I actually like you, I also just need caffeine right now”

They both stayed serious for a second before bursting out into laughter.

They walked to a little coffee shop a few blocks from the hotel. They got their coffees then sat at a table outside to drink them.

“Where did Christen go?” Kelley inquired, then taking a sip of her cortado.

“Not sure, she wasn’t there when I woke up”

“Maybe she was doing some zen thing or whatever it is she does. You know— meditation and yoga and stuff”

_“_ Oh yeah, probably”

When they finished they walked back to the hotel. It was nearly twelve and neither of them had eaten yet. They ordered chicken breasts and vegetables from room service, to make Dawn proud, and dug in as soon as it arrived.

In the middle of their meal, Christen got back to the room.

“Hey Press!” Kelley said with a mouth full of broccoli.

“Hi Kelley—” Christen made a face “maybe you should chew with your mouth closed”

Kelley just smiled and nodded at Christen in response.

“Where’ve you been all morning?” Tobin inquired.

Suddenly Christen got a little sheepish “Um— just— getting my yoga and juice on with Lauren”

“You and Cheney were hanging? Without me?”

“Yeah we did some yoga in one of the ball rooms downstairs and drank some juices”

“I’ve always wanted to try that yogi stuff, maybe get my zen on. Invite me next time!”

Christen was still talking kind of quietly, and now she was avoiding Tobin’s eyes “I don’t know if it’s— your uh—“

“My what?” Tobin interrupted.

“Your type of thing I guess”

“Why would that be?”

“Tobin you can never sit still for more than like, two seconds” Kelley interjected.

“That’s not true! I’m the ‘hard chill’ expert! Harry can back that up” Tobin was defending herself.

“Okay but yoga _isn’t_ laying on a couch watching Arsenal play, Tobin. You have to like clear your mind and bring it to a certain place. Plus you’ll probably get bored holding poses”

Christen chuckled a bit and said “She’s kind of right”

Tobin felt slightly offended “Guys I’m not a toddler that just runs around all over the place!”

“No Tobs, you’re more like a teenager” Kelley said laughing, this time with a mouthful of green beans.

“Ugh whatever, screw you Kelley” was Tobin’s only retaliation.

They resumed eating for a moment before Christen spoke up “Next time I do recovery yoga, don’t let me forget to invite you. I support anyone becoming a yogi”

“Thank you for being _considerate_ , Christen. Kelley must’ve ditched whatever class they taught that in at Stanford”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2014; PPL PARK; CHESTER, PA, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

It all happened so quickly. It didn’t feel real.

It was the fifty-sixth minute. The attacking line was stagnant, but suddenly Cheney at midfield kicked the ball to Sydney Leroux, who was in the front-center, and Christen took off on the right side. Christen was too fast for the girl marking her and beat her to collect the pass that Syd had just sent up the field. The goal keeper went way off her line to the right corner of the six yard box to try and stop the ball but Christen just cut it back to the left and there was now no one in between her and the goal. With an easy tap the ball was in the back of the net.

USA - 3 || MEX - 0

Tobin had been running up left field with the rest of the attack. Megan Rapinoe was right behind Christen after she scored but the first thing she did was run to Tobin. They double high-fived and then without even thinking about it— she hugged Tobin and picked her up slightly to spin her around.

The goal made Christen forget all the pent up nerves she had around Tobin, she had forgotten about the panic she felt whenever she was near. All Christen could feel is joy for herself and her teammates and celebrating with Tobin just felt right— it came organically.

The U.S had to win this game to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, and they were already up 2-0 but this third goal felt like the final dagger that certainly secured the win they needed.

After the game, the locker room was filled with the sounds of celebration. Not only had this team just secured their spot in Canada for the following summer, it was also Christine Rampone’s three-hundredth cap— that was definitely something to celebrate.

Everything she had been feeling over the last few weeks had been weighing down on Christen, constantly plaguing her mind. Even though they had left her head in during the game it was all coming back as she sat and watched everything going on in the locker room.

Tobin was dancing around with Kelley, who was being her usual wild self, with Arod and Cheney laughing nearby. Syndey and Abby were doing their thing. Megan and Ashlyn were screaming along to whatever pop music was blasting while Ali laughed at them. Kling was being loud and Moe found it entertaining. Everyone seemed so free and happy and like they had not a care in the world.

Christen was thinking about her goal celebration hug with Tobin. It reminded her of the time, before that day in the rain, when they were good friends. They would eat and laugh together, text and hang out when they could. But now, she felt like she had been cold to and short with Tobin because of the way she felt. She missed her company and all the times they shared together. Tobin was her roommate, and right there in the bed next to her every night but because she was scared of what she felt, Christen had been avoiding any interaction.

Christen was raised in a fully accepting household, she’d been around gay teammates her whole life and never once judged them or thought of them differently— so why was she so scared for herself? So scared of natural feelings that she could not control, so scared that maybe it meant she wasn’t ‘straight’. _So what if I like a woman?_ Besides, Christen had never let labels define her any ways. Her whole life she’d been put in boxes as a biracial woman and hated it. It wasn’t like her to be freaking out about over something this arbitrary.

Christen peered at Ali, still enjoying herself with Ashlyn and Pinoe. Ali had never had feelings for a girl before she met Ash— but now she was madly in love with a woman and they’d been together for about four years now. Ali always seemed free, never feeling the need to define herself or her preferences; she just simply existed as she was. _If she can do it— so can I._

Maybe it was everyone’s happiness in the moment, or the fact that Christen was actually pretty satisfied with her game performance for once, or maybe it was because she simply just had a revelation.

_I, Christen Annemarie Press, have a crush on a girl— and that’s okay._

It felt good to admit it, not out loud but at least in her head. Maybe if she found herself alone in the hotel room sometime or something like that she’d say it out loud. Thoughts, ideas, and words always felt more concrete— more official— after you spoke them into the universe.

Christen wasn’t sure what she thought was going to happen after she admitted the truth to herself. Was she going to die? Was the entire world going to come crashing down? No— everything was alright. She put her hand over her heart and felt that it was still beating. _I’m still alive._ Since gravity was still holding her down to the chair in front of her locker, the earth must still be spinning. _The world hasn’t ended._

Christen took a deep breath and smiled. _Everything is going to be okay._

Tobin was still going to give Christen butterflies in her stomach and make her heart flutter every time they locked eyes, but that’s just what having a crush does to you. Christen was not going to run from her feelings, or Tobin, anymore. This is what she felt and she couldn’t change it. Tobin had a girlfriend which meant she was off limits to Christen, and that helped her nerves settle a little.

Her deep train of thought was interrupted by Kling waving her hands in front of Christen’s face.

“Chris? Chris? Earth to Christen?”

Christen snapped out of wherever she had zoned out to, “I— uh— what?”

“I thought I lost you for a second there, bud” Kling said sarcastically “what were you thinking about?”

_I totally was_ _not_ _having a huge moment of self realization or anything._

“You know— just… stuff”

“Christen, you can be a little strange sometimes” Kling laughed “but I wanted to congratulate you on your goal tonight”

“Thank you very much” She smiled.

“That being said— I don’t think it was better than _my_ goal against Haiti but it was still pretty good”

Christen rolled her eyes and chuckled. _Of course she was using this to try and boost her own ego._ “You’re right, Meghan. Will I ever be able to get out from under the shadow of that show stopping strike you had last game? Only time will tell”

They both laughed at this witty remark before Kling responded “At least you’re admitting it, Press”

Tobin’s POV

Back at the hotel, the trio in room 341 was too excited to sleep. Yes, they still had to play in the championship game. But it was certain now: they were going to the 2015 World Cup in Canada— and they couldn’t contain themselves.

Kelley and Christen were both sitting on the edges of their beds, facing each other. Tobin was laying back on her side of the bed with her hands tucked behind her head, just looking up at the ceiling above her with a big smile drawn across her face.

“Guys— this is our chance to redeem ourselves… we’re going back to the freaking World Cup!” Kelley exclaimed

“ _You_ guys are, but who knows if I’m even going to make the team” Christen said.

_What is this crazy talk?_

Tobin propped herself up on her left elbow and looked at Christen, “Dude you’re _insane_ if you think Jill would leave you off the final roster”

Christen turned around and their eyes met, “I don’t know I just—“

Tobin interrupted “You’ve been killing it the moment you put on the U.S.A jersey for the first time, if Jill leaves cuts you then I guess I’m not going to the World Cup”

“Me too! Press, not one player on the planet can beat your speed on the field. I swear you’re half cheetah or something. If you get cut, me and Tobin would totally protest” Kelley chimed in.

Christen smiled softly and looked down at the ground— she seemed to be shy all of the sudden, “Thanks guys”

Tobin put her hand on Christen’s shoulder and Kelley followed by reaching out to put a hand on Christen’s knee.

“We mean it, Christen. Your place on this squad has been solidified; you’re our secret weapon. Without you, the front line is incomplete” Tobin said genuinely.

“I couldn’t have put it any better” Kelley said.

“That means so much, you both don’t even understand. I might just cry right now” Christen was smiling, clearly trying to prevent tears from streaming down her face right then and there.

“Oh, Press! C’mon guys lets bring it in for a group hug” Kelley suggested.

Tobin and Kelley closed in on either side of Christen and they all held each other for a moment.

Holding her friends like this filled Tobin with a warmth. She missed Alex so much, and she missed Shirley even more. But moments like this filled that temporarily empty void in her heart.

“There’s no way we don’t all make the roster, guys” Tobin said while they were still all hugging.

Kelley was the first to pull away and then Tobin followed.

“Tobin is right. Plus, the only reason I went to the last World Cup was because Lindsay Tarpley blew out her knee. I was _literally_ the last one on the roster and I only played in one match”

“I played some and was called up to take a shot when the final went into penalties. It was supposed to be _my moment_ to prove myself and you know what I did? Sent the ball right to the keeper and she saved it easily” Tobin scoffed and shook her head “I _still_ can’t believe I did that. The point of me saying all that is this: we were _just kids_ back then. I was only twenty-three and Kelley was twenty-two. But now, we’re older, more experienced, and basically veterans at this point. It’s still crazy to me to think about the fact that you weren’t even called up until last year Christen, but you should’ve been there in Germany with us. I believe we have the best team on the planet and this next World Cup is ours for the taking”

“That was good stuff Tobs but remember we still have a game to play on Sunday” Kelley said smiling.

Tobin giggled “Okay you’re right Kelley. Let’s focus on that, huh guys?”

“Yeah” Christen said in a meek voice. She had been pretty quiet for most of the conversation, though she’d smiled as she listened to all Tobin had to say.

_I wonder what’s up with her._

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2014; CHESTER, PA, U.S.A

Christen’s POV

It was game day. The final match of this nearly month long World Cup qualifying was all over after tonight. Costa Rica awaited them in the championship match. Focusing on the game ahead, Christen felt excitement and some nerves.

After coming to terms with herself, she had felt more relaxed over the last few days and was able to fall asleep fairly quickly, even with Tobin at just an arm’s length away. Regardless, being around Tobin still made her slightly anxious. She was expecting that though.

It was about one o’clock in the afternoon and Christen was in the room, just with Kelley, resting. Tobin had gone out to eat lunch with Cheney and ARod. She was scrolling through Twitter and decided to tweet about the match.

* * *

**Christen Press**

@ChristenPress

Concacaf Women’s Championship Final tonight at 6pmEST on Fox Sports 1! 💙❤️ #uswnt @TobinHeath

**[IMAGE]**

1:08 PM · Oct 26, 2014

* * *

She attached a picture of her and Tobin from the last game. When Christen had first seen it, she couldn’t help but smile. It was taken right after she had scored, and was running to Tobin— the first person she celebrated the goal with. Just looking at it made her happy and she knew the way she was grinning at her phone made her look silly.

She continued to scroll mindlessly through Twitter for a few minutes before she saw a new mention pop up. It was a reply to her tweet, from Tobin.

* * *

**Tobin Heath**

@TobinHeath

_Replying to @ChristenPress_

@ChristenPress :)

1:11 PM · Oct 26, 2014

* * *

Christen felt a huge smile draw across her face as she stared at the tweet.

Kelley, who was in her bed, looked over and made a comment, “Dude why are you cheesin’ at your phone like some weirdo?”

“No reason” She replied, still smiling down at her phone and obviously bluffing.

“You are such a terrible liar”

Christen let those words hang in the air. She took a deep breath and put her phone to the side. She was sitting upright against the headboard of the bed but then slid down to lay flat on her back. She couldn’t wipe the grin from her face.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2014; PPL PARK; CHESTER, PA, U.S.A

Tobin’s POV

The last whistle of the game sounded and Tobin knew that meant two things.

First, the U.S had just won their seventh CONCACAF Gold Cup. It came as no surprise to Tobin. She’d take every game seriously and play hard but it wasn’t like the team wasn’t expecting to breeze through this game and come out with a victory.

Second, she knew she’d finally get to see Shirley. She’d ‘seen’ Shirley all night on the pitch, but Tobin wanted to feel her touch and hear her voice. Since leaving PSG in September, Tobin hadn’t seen her once. It was hard to go from being around her nearly every day to spending almost seven straight weeks apart. Since they were both playing in this tournament, Tobin had tried to find time to meet with Shirley in-between games but their schedules wouldn’t allow it.

Before the match had started, the captain of each squad gave a little speech. Christine Rampone had done it for the U.S since she was wearing the arm band that night. Shirley had spoken for the Costa Rican team. Even though she was speaking in Spanish and Tobin could hardly make out what she was saying, the sound of Shirley’s voice had warmed her heart a little. They’d texted and called since Tobin had left Paris but hearing Shirley’s voice in real life was different— and it was better.

Tobin had been keeping their relationship pretty low-key, even some of the PSG players were oblivious to it. She hadn’t told many of her teammates on the National Team, just a select few. She was a little paranoid with countless cameras around and didn’t want to make anything too obvious, so she walked around to greet her teammates and some of the Costa Rican players for a few minutes. After that, Tobin headed to the group of gathered U.S players and she grabbed her shake from the cooler and took a sip. Shirley was down field some and they both saw each other. Tobin knew what she wanted to do next.

She then noticed Christen approaching to get a get a hug, so she gave her a quick one with nothing to it. Christen was a good friend and all, but she was simply a barrier between Tobin and what she wanted— and needed— most in this moment. She kept moving forward in hopes of finally getting to touch Shirley for the first time in weeks.

Again, not wanting to make anything too obvious, Tobin kept a straight face as she approached Shirley and hugged her— though it wasn’t easy. When they finally collided, they just held each other. Tobin stayed silent and kept resisting the urge to break out in a big, stupid grin— the type of grin you can’t help when around someone you love. Shirley whispered a few things into her ear.

“Te extrañé, mi amore”

Tobin let the words sink in but kept quiet, so Shirley continued.

“I want to see you later, amore. Can we please?”

“I’ll try” Tobin mustered, barely parting her lips.

“Por favor, amore. Te amo”

“Te amo”

They let go of each other but held eye contact “Come hang with us after the trophy presentation”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine— está bién”

“Está bién”

They each gave a smile then turned around to head back to their teams.

Christen’s POV

Though she had tried to forget about it, the fact that they were playing Shirley had been in the back of Christen’s mind all day and all through the match.

Once the game finished and everyone had walked around and greeted each other, the U.S players gathered around the cooler to get their post-game shake. Tobin was standing right there and Christen felt the need to hug her. This was progress, considering just last week close contact with Tobin would’ve practically given her a stroke. So, Christen decided to go up and give her a hug.

They hugged quickly and Tobin patted Christen a few times on the back. It was nothing, really— they had hugged longer and deeper before. But times were different now and this hug made Christen grin like an idiot and feel all giddy.

Tobin seemed to move on quickly from the hug, like she had another destination in mind. _Where is she going?_

Christen turned around to see where Tobin was headed; still with that giant, goofy smile pinned across her face. She used her right hand to slick back some loose hair and that’s when she spotted Shirley— waiting for Tobin downfield.

Christen was filled with nervous energy and suddenly couldn’t figure out what to do with herself. She turned around, trying to look away, but couldn’t help and take one more peak over her left shoulder. She ran her right hand through her pony tail, still not knowing what to do with herself and then _again_ turned to look at Shirley and Tobin over her left shoulder. She kept her eyes on them for longer this time before Ali, who was standing to her left, spoke up.

“What is it?” She asked.

“It’s nothing” Christen responded.

Ali turned away from Christen, offering no further inquiry.

Christen’s angst was building.

To her front left were ARod and Kelley. She suddenly noticed Kelley send Amy’s attention in the direction of Tobin and Shirley.

“Dude look” Kelley said smiling and nodding that way.

“They’re so cute together” ARod said as they continued to stare.

Then Cheney came over and hugged Kelley, placing her head on Kelley’s shoulder to see what all the fuss was about.

Christen could hear them giggling and laughing but was trying to ignore it, trying not to think about what was going on behind her.

This caught Ashlyn’s attention, who was to Christen’s right, and she looked over in their direction as well which prompted Ali to do so also.

Now most the people surrounding Christen were staring at Tobin and Shirley and making little comments. All of it made her feel so angsty, she could hardly contain herself.

—

Later after the trophy presentation, the American players were just standing around each other socializing. Shirley came up to the group to hang with a few of them and it made Christen immediately uneasy.

Before they all finally headed back to the locker room to celebrate, Tobin and Shirley switched jerseys. It physically pained Christen to witness this. _Why am I so affected by all of this? I’m not jealous or— am I?_

—

In the hotel room that night, what would be her last night sharing a bed with Tobin, Christen lay awake. Not because she was in Tobin’s presence— she’d pretty much gotten used to sleeping a foot away from her. What kept Christen up was the thought that she had started this tournament just hoping to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, but got that plus _a lot_ more than she bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i didn't want to spoil the whole plot of the update so i didn't discuss this is the top notes. have y'all ever been around a person a lot and never noticed them and then one day just look up at them or make eye contact with them and then all of the sudden... you're practically in love with them? maybe that sounds insane but omg it happened to me in february with someone in my art class and boy oh boy it was the most painful crush i've ever had. any ways, in my brain this is how i imagined christen falling for tobin at first and i figured i'd use the tweet where tobin calls for christen to be her knight in shining armor and pick her up in a car and have some fun with it. you know-- that running in the rain stuff. so yeah.
> 
> that feeling i described is confusing. i couldn't put it into words for myself and i found it hard to even write about it too. so if this chapter was confusing... sorry. having a crush can just be confusing and especially when it happens like this. hope you guys liked this chapter :^)


End file.
